Not This Time & Never Again
by CharmedOne24
Summary: Chris, Wyatt & Phyra fight to change time to save one of their own. Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way they planned. Please R & R! COMPLETE!
1. The Storm

**A/N: Sorry for the evil way the last one ended. I had to torture Chris a little. Don't worry, he won't be sad the whole story!**

**This is my 5th story in my series. I have had a couple people ask, so the order of my stories is as follows: **

**The Sextet of Time**

**Time Loop**

**Destiny Unleashed**

**A Fine Line Between Heaven & Hell**

**Not This Time (& Never Again) – current story!**

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Thunder crashed over his head as the rain poured down in hard pelting sheets, soaking his clothing. He didn't notice, as he stared down at the gravestone. "Maya Elizabeth Halliwell; 2005-2026" the script read. The engraving of two rings entwined forever in stone taunted him. They'd never had a chance. A dark lighter had seen to that.

Chris Halliwell fell to his knees in the freshly dug dirt, feeling mud seep up into his pants. He traced Maya's name with one shaking finger. "I'm so sorry, Maya. I'm so sorry!" Tears mingled with the rain as he cried. Unconsciously, his grief fed the storm as the thunder ripped again, shooting blasts of lightning down. The wind started to howl ferociously, blowing Chris' shaggy hair across his forehead. "I should have protected you. I promised to. God, Maya, I'll fix this. I swear, I'll fix it. I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm so sorry!" His hands flashed, sending a lightning bolt of his own skittering across the empty graveyard.

"Chris!" Wyatt's voice rang through the empty graveyard. "Chris, you have to stop this! Look at what you're doing. Chris, your grief is destroying the city! There are flash floods all over the city, not to mention lightning damage. I know you miss her, Chris. But you have to stop this! You're too powerful to grieve this deeply. Please, Chris, come home with me. We're your family, let us help you."

Chris whirled on his brother. "Leave me alone, Wyatt! My family…my wife is lying there… cold…covered in dirt! What the HELL good is magic, Wyatt? Huh? A dark lighter took a pot shot at my wife, and she died for it. She died on our wedding day! What am I supposed to do, look back on our thirty seconds of wedded bliss before she was assassinated? I can't do that! I have to fix this. This isn't right. This wasn't her destiny, Wy. It wasn't. She…we…Evil wasn't supposed to win this time. It's not fair. It's not right. I'm fixing this. I am."

Chris' voice was filled with tension and pain. The lightning cracked down again, severing a tree limb in the parking lot. Chris was shaking, unable to think about anything except Maya.

"She wouldn't want this, Chris. She would never have let you do this, not for her. The entire thing sucks, Chris. She didn't deserve this. But it happened Chris. Whether or not you believe that it was her destiny, it still happened Chris. The poison was too strong. But Chris, at least she died knowing how much you loved her. Hold onto that, it won't steer you wrong."

Chris stared at his brother bitterly. "Is that supposed to make me feel any better? She loved me. Big deal. Is that knowledge going to sleep beside me at night, is it going to whisper to me when I have a bad day? Is that knowledge supposed to give me the babies that should have been hers? It is going to do any damn bit of good except perpetuate a lie, Wyatt? The knowledge is fine, Wy. But I want her instead." The rain continued to pour down as Chris yelled at his brother.

"Chris, I know how you feel, ok?" Wyatt started.

"NO! NO! DON'T YOU EVEN START THAT WITH ME WYATT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL! ABBY IS STILL HERE! SHE'S WAITING FOR YOU AT HOME." Chris screamed, fully enraged. He orbed away from Wyatt, purposely putting up a shield to block Wyatt from finding him.

"Chris! CHRIS!" Wyatt yelled after him. "Damn it." Wyatt walked over to the gravestone Chris has so recently vacated. "I'm sorry, Maya. Please forgive me. I don't know how to help him with this. I'm so sorry." He whispered to the grave before orbing back to the manor.

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"Quick, I need another bucket over here!" Patience yelled, running with a full bucket of rain water to dump down the sink. The Manor roof was riddled with weak spots and holes due to the many demon fights that had taken place in it.

"Bucket" Paige orbed a pail under the hole that Patience had just found. She looked up as Wyatt orbed back in. "Oh, good, you're back. Where's Chris? He needs to quit with this storm!"

"He's blocking me Aunt Paige."

"What? I thought you said you'd found him!" she screeched.

"I did, but then I guess I pissed him off, because he orbed off, and now he's blocking me." Wyatt rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"Oh, Wy. That's not good. We have to find him. He's got to stop this before he destroys the entire city!"

"Call everyone together. I've got an idea." Wyatt suddenly snapped his head up, and orbed out.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Paige muttered to herself, before heading downstairs to collect the family.

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"What's going on here?" Piper asked curiously, staring at the assembled family sitting in the attic.

"Wyatt called a meeting, then orbed off. He should be back in a second. I think he has a plan about Chris." Paige answered calmly.

Wyatt orbed in as Piper started to speak again. "Okay, look, here's the rundown. Chris has gone off my radar. He's actively blocking me, because he's pissed at me. His grief, as you all know, is fueling this storm. I just came back from checking with Darryl, and there have already been four deaths associated with this storm. That makes this our responsibility to stop him before he harms anyone else. I've got a plan, but it's risky."

"How risky, Wy?" Leo asked curiously. He wasn't used to seeing Wyatt in this take- charge mode. That was normally Chris' forte.

"Time travel risky."

"Time travel! No, Wyatt, you have no idea what else you might change! There has to be a different way." Piper protested. She herself had time traveled enough to know that the least mistake could cost the entire future.

"Mom, we have to fix this. Chris is a basket case. We're going to lose him completely, and that can't happen. If it does, the world as we know it ends. If we don't get him back, and fix this, this storm is going to continue. And it's only going to get worse. The worse his grief and anger gets, the worse this storm will get. Do you really think that this is the worst thing the weather can throw at us? Mark my words, if we don't get him under control of his own emotions, we're going to see the really bad stuff soon, like hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, earthquakes…"

"Wyatt, to go back in time, just to save Maya will have severe personal gain repercussions." Leo warned.

"How can it be personal gain when his grief has cost innocents their lives? We are saving innocents here, dad. How many more people do you think are going to die? When even a natural disaster with no magical ties hits, thousands, sometimes millions of people die. What do you think is going to happen when it has a magical force pushing it along? Here's a hint. Do the letters D.O.A ring a bell?"

"I agree with Wyatt." Phyra said quietly. "Look, Chris can't keep going on like this. If he does, he's so powerful, that it's not just the city in trouble, it'll be the entire country, maybe even the world. How long do you guys think the elders are going to let it go on before they step in and recycle him for the greater good. We can't let that happen. I say, we get Chris back, then explain our plan to him."

"The only problem is, I can't find him. He's blocking me. Dad, Aunt Paige, I need you guys to try." Wyatt sighed.

Leo & Paige nodded, and closed their eyes, trying to sense for Chris. Almost simultaneously they opened their eyes, and shook their heads. "He's blocking us too."

"Let me try, Wy." Phyra begged.

"Phy, you don't know how to sense yet. This isn't the time to start teaching you how. We have to get Chris back first, honey." Wyatt said gently.

"But, Wy, don't you get it? This is the perfect time. Chris knows I don't know how to sense. So he won't be blocking me! It's the fastest way to find him, Wy! C'mon, please? Let me try."

Wyatt smiled. "Alright. You have a point. What's the worst it can do? Okay, close your eyes, and concentrate. Think of Chris, think of where he is and how much you want to find him. Then picture a scrying crystal and map in your mind. Let the crystal in your mind spin, and then drop as you're thinking of Chris. Once it drops, look at the location. That's where we'll find him."

Phyra obediently closed her eyes and did as Wyatt instructed. "Cool" she breathed. "He's at the park where they got married."

Wyatt smiled, and put her face in one hand. "Great job, munchkin. Thanks."

He orbed away quickly, returning a few seconds later with an angry, hissing Chris in hand. "What the HELL part of LEAVE ME ALONE didn't you GET?" Chris screamed at his brother.

"Chris, stop, please. We've got a plan!" Wyatt started.

"I don't want to hear it. I don't give a damn about what demon is after whom. All I want it to be left alone! Why can't you just get that?" Chris' pain was obvious. Grief lined his face, and tears ran unchecked down his cheeks.

"It's not about a demon. We're going to get Maya back!" Phyra yelled, seeing him about to orb out.

"Wh…What are you talking about? Even we can't bring back the dead." Chris said dully.

"No, but we can change time to make sure it doesn't happen in the first place." Wyatt answered softly.

Chris turned, the tears drying on his cheeks, but for the first time in days none came to replace them. "We can't do that, Wy. What if it changes things even worse?"

"What's worse than dead, Chris?" Phyra asked quietly.

"Someone else could get hurt instead. Just because I want Maya back doesn't mean that I want to lose someone else instead, Phy. I don't want to sacrifice one of you for the Maya's sake. She wouldn't want that either." The storm outside was starting to calm, the rain slowing to a drizzle instead of the steady downpour.

"Chris, I have a plan. It should work. We go back in time, change this. Worse come to worse, and something else happens, then we can change it again back to this. But at least, then you would have had time to say your good-byes. You would have the comfort of those few days together. Chris, come on, at least try it. We both know that even though you're a little bit calmer now, this isn't over. You're still deeply grieving, and chances are you're still going to have bursts of rage. When that happens, you're going to trigger Mother Nature's wrath. I have no idea why, but it seems to be one of your powers. When your emotions get volatile, so does the weather."

Chris looked guiltily around the attic. "I didn't mean…" he trailed off as he looked out the window.

"Honey, we know that. I didn't mean to do it either after you came to the past before. It's not your fault. We just need to make sure that the storms stop. That's all." Piper walked over and hugged her baby close. She had no powers of empathy, but still felt his pain all too clearly.

"Listen, I've got a spell to take us back, but Chris, you're the one with the time travel powers. I need your help, okay?"

"You're sure about this Wy? This isn't going to backfire on us?" Chris asked anxiously.

"No, Chris, it's not going to backfire. We'll be fine." Wyatt lied. In truth he had no idea how it was going to work out. He just knew it was something they had to try.

"Alright. Since you dragged me back here…wait a second. I know I was blocking you and Dad and Aunt Paige. How'd you find me?" Chris asked, side-tracked.

"I did it! I sensed for you, Chris!" Phyra exclaimed excitedly.

"Wh…How long have you known how to do that?" He asked confused.

"About fifteen minutes. Wyatt showed me how. It was my idea. See I knew that you wouldn't block someone you didn't think could sense for you anyway. So it was perfect!"

Chris smiled, a small little grin, for the first time since his wedding day. "Yeah, perfect. Good for you, Phy." He turned to Wyatt, suddenly all business. "Okay, where's your spell?"

"Right here" Wyatt tapped the side of his head, having memorized the spell.

"Okay, shoot." Chris replied. He grabbed the chalk, and drew the triquetra, using his time traveling abilities to bring open a vortex. The spell would tell them where to go.

_Powers unite to re-create fate,_

_Send us now through time and life.._

_Let us go, and not be late,_

_Powers combine to save Chris' wife._

Wyatt finished the spell as he and Chris stepped up to the vortex, and stepped through it. Phyra yelped in fear and surprise as she found herself being sucked with Chris and Wyatt into the vortex. The blue triquetra closed and Paige yelled in denial. "You two better keep her safe." She muttered at the chalk lines.


	2. Present day Past

**A/N: Well, the general consensus is that I'm evil & nasty for ending "Fine Line" with Maya's death after the "beautiful wedding vows". I'm actually kind of proud of that! LOL Hopefully, everyone will be happy with this story. Although I should warn you all, I've got tons and tons of twists planned for the Halliwells in this one!**

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Chris and Wyatt hit the floor as Phyra flew into their backs. "Ugh…damn it all, Phy! Why did you follow us?" Wyatt demanded, picking himself up off the floor.

"I didn't! At least, not on purpose! The vortex thingee sucked me in. I didn't jump, I swear!" Phyra protested loudly.

"It was your spell, Wy. You specifically said 'powers combine', not _brothers_ powers combine. The spell probably plucked out the 3 strongest witches." Chris replied thoughtfully.

"I'm one of the most powerful witches, Chris? But I don't know how to do anything except orb and use my fire power." Phyra asked anxiously.

"Phy, that's not true." Wyatt pointed out. "You can heal, you can use your telepathy with me and Chris, and you just learned how to sense."

"Well, yeah, but it's not like I'm very good at any of that stuff." She moaned.

"You'll get good at it, Phy. You just have to practice at all of it. Plus, you heard what our dad said. You're going to be a strong power. It must be happening soon, or the vortex would've taken someone else." Chris replied easily.

"But what if I get this new great power, and I don't know how to use it! How the heck am I supposed to help you guys?" she cried out, confused, and a little scared.

Chris slung his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in close for a quick hug. "It's going to be okay, Phy. Don't be scared. We'll help you, and you'll help us. That's just the way it goes, okay?"

Phyra allowed herself another second or two of being held by Chris, then nodded. "Okay."

"All right. Let's go and see where we landed." Chris responded, suddenly all business.

"We're in the attic at the manor. See, the book is right over there." Wyatt pointed. "But its weird that no one heard us. I mean, we smacked the floor pretty hard. They should have been able to hear it."

"Maybe they're not home." Phyra spoke softly.

No sooner had the words left her mouth, the door to the attic swung open. Chris and Wyatt pulled Phyra behind the large stuffed sofa, hiding their presence quickly.

Abby's voice floated through the door. "Wyatt, stop it! We can't do that right now!" She was giggling as she ran through the doorway.

Past Wyatt pulled her close, and kissed her deeply. "Baby, we can do whatever we want. Everyone else is at the rehearsal dinner. That upset stomach was the best excuse you've ever come up with." He kissed her again, his hand starting to creep under the edge of her top.

"Mmmm… I can't believe they all actually bought it. I thought sure your Aunt Phoebe or Chris would see through it." She wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing him to take her weight, leaning in close as she kissed him back.

Past Wyatt snorted in disbelief. "We might have fooled Aunt Phoebe, but not Chris. Chris knew exactly what our plans are."

Abby slapped him playfully. "Shut up, he does not." She stopped and pulled away to look him in the eyes. "Does he?"

"Yeah, he knows. He told me to have a good night before we left." Chris and Wyatt exchanged a look behind the couch. Both remembered the conversation, and Chris' comments had been much raunchier.

"Oh my God!" Abby started to blush. "You don't think… he won't say anything to anyone else, will he?"

"Of course not. You know my brother better than that by now. He'll never say a word to anyone. Quit worrying." He silenced her protest with another long steamy kiss. He pulled her shirt off, dropping it behind them on the floor.

"EW! Oh My God, Wyatt! That's SO gross!" Phyra burst out loudly. Chris and Wyatt immediately shushed her, but it was too late.

"Phy? How… what are you doing here young lady?" Past Wyatt demanded as he quickly handed Abby her top. "And why are you hiding? Get over here."

"I, umm… hi Wy!" Phyra bit her lip to try not to look suspicious.

"Hi Wy? That's all you have to say? Phyra, you're supposed to be at Yummies, not here in the attic spying on us. What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, I forgot something." She answered lamely.

"Right. You forgot something. What did you lose, your mind?" he asked angrily.

"No… I…"

"Quit stalling and get over here. I'm not going to yell at you from across the room." Past Wyatt demanded again.

"Err…okay." Phyra bit her lip again, and tried to climb over Chris' crouched form.

"What the? What are you climbing over?" Past Wyatt asked curiously as he watched her swing one leg high up, to get over Chris' shoulders.

"Nothing. Just some old…boxes." She finished quickly.

"Uh huh. So I'm sure you won't mind if I just take a look myself." Wyatt said suspiciously.

"No! No, you can't. Wyatt, shouldn't you be at home putting Abby to bed. I mean, if she's sick…" Phyra trailed off, trying to distract him.

"You know as well as I do that she was faking it. Now, stop trying to side track me, it's not going to work." Past Wyatt knelt down in front of Phyra, looking at her closely. "I'm only going to ask this one time, Phy. Did you mess up with your magic and accidentally orb something you shouldn't have?"

"I was only seven when I did that Wyatt! I didn't mean to orb the tiger into my room! God, you still treat me like a baby! I know how to orb things now. I wouldn't do that!" Phyra yelled angrily.

"Then what the HELL is going on? You know what, never mind. I'll find out for myself." Wyatt stood up, and moved the couch away telekinetically with a flick of his wrist.

Chris punched the floor in frustration. "Damn it all!" he swore angrily. So far nothing had gone right and they'd only been in the past for 10 minutes. How the hell where they supposed to save Maya when they couldn't even hide from Wyatt?

Past Wyatt groaned. "Chris, what the hell are you doing here with her? You should be at…your…par…ty." His voice trailed off as he stared into a mirror version of himself. "Damn. What are we time traveling for this time?"

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"Okay, so let me get this straight. In less than 24 hours, my brother is going to get married as planned. But then a dark lighter ruins the celebration just as he kisses the bride. Chris accidentally brushes the arrow with his hand, and both he and Maya are infected with a lethal form of the dark lighter poison. The antidote takes too long to make, and Chris barely survives, while Maya…dies?"

"Basically, that's the main idea." Wyatt told his past self.

"Look, I get how much you guys want to save her. I mean, I love her too. But, when Patrick died, we all decided it would be too dangerous to go back in time. So, why now, for Maya?"

"Because of Chris. He went crazy with grief. His emotions triggered his powers, and caused the biggest storm San Francisco has ever seen. There were floods, lightning storms, mud slides… it was worse than the time Aunt Piper became Mother Nature after Uncle Leo cast the spell to take away her pain. But even still, we found out that four innocents had died in the storm. So we had to try this, because it's not for personal gain, not really." Phyra explained.

"What? Four innocents died? You never told me that!" Chris cried out, horrified.

"Chris, it's okay. We're going to fix this, so that way they won't die. When we save Maya, we save them too. Okay? Relax, little brother. We're fixing this." Wyatt reassured him.

"Listen, Phy, do you think you can make that potion now? That way at least if the dark lighter does show up, we won't have to wait to give the antidote. We'll have it ready." Past Wyatt asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I can do that. No problem." She orbed away, heading for the kitchen.

"Why did you guys have to bring her? She's too young for this. What if you guys fail? She's going to blame herself." Past Wyatt accused them angrily.

"We didn't plan to bring her. The spell was worded wrong. It was an accident. And we won't fail. I can't fail." Chris said shortly, with a hint of bitterness.

"Christ, I'm sorry, Chris. I guess it just doesn't feel real to me. I mean, I just saw Maya an hour ago. It's hard to believe she's going to die. How long has it been since she…"

"Died, Wyatt. She died. Four days ago." Chris pushed up to his feet. "Look I need to see her."

"No! Chris, that's just a bad idea. You can't risk it. We can't let the entire world know you're here. If we do, then the dark lighter won't attack, and I won't be able to kill him. Listen to me, Chris. The best thing you can do, is let Phyra make that potion, and then go back to your time. I swear, Chris. I won't let her die this time. I know he's coming, and I'll be ready for him. Plus, I'll have the potion just in case. But if he figures out that you're here, he won't attack, at least not now. All that means, is that he'll attack next time, when we won't be prepared, and won't have future knowledge. Then someone will die again. I can't let that happen. Please, just go back to your time. You'll know if I succeed. If I do, Maya will be there waiting. If not, then turn around and come back. I'll let you help me then." Past Wyatt was talking fast, trying to keep Chris from walking away.

Chris sighed. "Okay. Fine. We'll try it your way. Wyatt, I trust you. Save her first. No matter what else happens, I want you to swear to me. You save her first. If we both get hit, then you save her first. I don't want to live if she dies. Save her first." His eyes filled again with tears, but his gaze never left his past brothers.

Wyatt swallowed hard, as he watched his past self struggle with the promise. "Chris…"

"No, I don't want to hear any alternatives, Wyatt. If we both get hit with that arrow, you save her first. Once she's safe, then you can save me." His voice was full of strain.

"Okay, Chris. You win. I promise. I'll save her first." Past Wyatt answered slowly.

"Look, if I can't see Maya, then I've got to do something to keep busy. I'm going to go help Phy." Chris orbed away, his voice brisk.

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Past Wyatt looked at Wyatt. "He's still hurting." They were sitting in the attic, calmly making battle plans.

"I know. He's better than he was, but he'll never be whole again without her. He needs her."

"Yeah, almost as much as she needs him."

"Yeah." Both men were silent for a few seconds, thinking about their little brother.

"Did you ever look up the dark lighter in the book?" Abby asked quietly, speaking for the first time.

Wyatt shook his head. "There wasn't time. At first, we were just looking for a cure, and trying to heal them. After Maya…well, let's just say that wasn't our first priority."

Abby grabbed the Book of Shadows, and started flipping through pages to find the dark lighter section. She held the book up to Wyatt after flipping a few pages. "Does this look right?"

Wyatt stared at the drawing of the dark lighter that had killed Maya. "Yeah, that's him. What's his story?" His voice was unconsciously cold and unbending.

"He's a for-hire dark lighter. He uses a special mixture of potions, and always works for a higher level demon. It says here that no one has ever seen his master, just that it's an upper level demon and a former right hand man to the Source. This is a really nasty dark lighter. The only good part is that he works alone. He doesn't believe in back up. So if you can get him, chances are, there won't be any more coming after him."

"Good, he shouldn't be that hard to kill then." Chris said coldly as he stepped back into the attic. Phyra was behind him, holding four potion bottles.

Past Wyatt looked at the bottles. "Four? I thought you said it was only Chris & Maya that got infected."

"It was. This is just in case something happens due to us being here." Phyra handed him the potions.

"Well, I guess that's our cue to get out of here. Good luck." Wyatt said to his past self.

"Thanks."

Chris called forth his time travel power, illuminating the triquetra that Wyatt had already drawn. He turned back to Past Wyatt. "Remember. Save her first."

Past Wyatt nodded, unable to speak.

_We did our best to seal our fate,_

_Prayed and hoped we weren't too late._

_Knowledge gained will save the day,_

_Send us back now, to where our destinies lay._

Phyra, Chris and Wyatt stepped back into the triquetra, not looking back, and not seeing the eerie shimmer in the corner of the attic.


	3. Reunion

**A/N: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! I love you guys!**

**Sorry this one is so short, I'll make it up to you next time!**

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Wyatt, Phyra and Chris stepped out of the vortex back into their own time. Chris shut his eyes and prayed silently that he'd see Maya when he opened them.

"Open your eyes, silly." Chris' eyes popped open at the familiar voice.

"Maya…" his voice was full of wonder and awe as he stared into the beautiful face of his wife. His eyes started to fill with tears, both of relief and gratitude. He grabbed her and pulled her close into his arms. "Oh, God, I'm so glad to see you. Are you okay?" He immediately pulled away, turning her in his arms as if to see the arrow wound for himself.

"Chris, honey, relax. I'm fine. I'm perfect. That handy little potion you guys made in the past worked like a charm."

"The potion? Wyatt had to use the potion? What happened to the dark lighter?" Phyra demanded angrily.

"He had company this time. He showed up with about 14 other dark lighters and a couple of garden variety demons. They caused so much havoc that your dad had to use memory dust on the guests. In the process, Chris and I still got hit. But luckily, thanks to you guys, we had the potion." Maya explained.

"How do you know what happened before? I mean, we changed the past, so the only ones who should remember the other way are Phy, Chris and I. And Abby, since she was there when we went back." Wyatt asked.

"I don't know how. But all of us remember. Maybe, it was just because it was such a small window of time?" Maya offered.

"It's possible, I suppose." He offered reluctantly.

"I don't care how they know, Wy. All I care is that I have my wife back. Thank you, both of you." Chris looked between Wyatt and Phyra gratefully.

"Yeah, yeah… just remember it when I want to go on my first date. I don't want any of the hassle you gave Pais and Pey." Phyra waved off his gratitude.

"HA! Like that's gonna happen. As if I'm going to let some greasy little teenage rock star wannabe grope my baby cousin. Keep on dreamin, pumpkin."

"Argh! Don't call me that Chris!" she screeched and slapped his chest playfully. "I'm not a baby anymore! I mean, really. Look at how I saved your butt this time."

"You saved his butt, Phy? You wouldn't have even been there if my spell had been worded right."

"Just details. Face it, Chris owes me!" she giggled and orbed away before anyone could argue with her.

Wyatt and Chris glanced at each other and grinned. "She's such a brat." Wyatt griped jokingly.

"Yeah, well, don't tell her this, but she really did save my butt. I do owe her. I owe you too."

"You don't owe me jack, Chris. You've saved me a few times too, if you'll remember. Way I still see it, I still owe you, and I always will." Wyatt clapped him on the back and orbed out before Chris could argue.

Chris turned to Maya. "Have you ever noticed how rude this family is? They just orb out so that you can't get another word in. I think we need to mention it to Mom."

Maya grinned at his obvious enjoyment of the thought. "Yeah, we could. Or you know… we could go start our own private honeymoon celebration. Just you and me and that cute little black outfit you bought…" her voice was cut off as Chris covered her mouth with his own and orbed them both to their house.

The same eerie shimmering that had happened in the past occurred again by the Book of Shadows. A muscular young man dressed all in black stepped out. His shaggy shoulder length hair draped over his eyes, partially obstructing the view of his face. He grinned as he stood over the book, holding his hand over the pages, watching as they flipped telekinetically. He laughed and stopped the pages from flipping, as he found the page he'd been looking for.

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Phyra sat in her room staring up at the wall. She flicked her hand idly, calling a small flame on the palm of her hand, and extinguishing it as she closed her hand.

"Hey, Phy! What's up? I thought you'd be celebrating by now. You saved Maya. You should be happy." Paige walked into her daughter's room and sat beside her on the bed.

"I am."

Paige gave a short bark of laughter. "Yeah, you sound ecstatic. Seriously, what's going on?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just worried. I mean, Uncle Leo says I'm supposed to have this great power, right? And I'm supposed to help Chris and Wyatt later because of the power. But they're like the most powerful witches ever created! How the heck am I supposed to help them? I can barely handle the powers I've got now. And I don't even know how to use half of them!"

"Honey, everyone gets nervous when they have a new power. You learn to handle them the same way you learn how to do anything else- you practice. And as far as helping Wyatt and Chris, well, it seems to me that you already to that every time we fight a demon. You're the one that fought Nogard and saved them from him. You're the one that has created potions that has turned them good when they were evil. You thought up the protection cage. And just today you helped save Chris' wife. They couldn't have done that without you, because you were the only one that knew the potion. Quit being so hard on yourself." Paige smoothed her daughter's light colored hair off her forehead.

"I can't stop being hard on myself, mom. I'm a white lighter, and I don't even have a clue how to use most of those powers. I can orb. Big deal." She muttered bitterly.

"You can orb, and now you can sense. Healing will come. Phyra, you're only thirteen. None of the other white lighter kids had healing until sixteen, with the exception of Wyatt. Even Chris was sixteen. So, it stands to reason that you'll get your healing powers when you're sixteen also. In the meantime, you need to focus on the powers you do have. Remember, everything magical happens for a reason, including the order in which you get your powers. You got your fire power first, because it was destined to be your strongest power. Your link with Chris and Wyatt came next because that is also supposed to be as strong as possible. Everything else will come in time. Don't be so anxious to grow up, silly."

"I guess you're right. But mom, what if my powers aren't enough to help Chris and Wyatt in whatever it is we're fighting? What if they…slip, like they did with Nogard?"

"Then the rest of the family will be there to help. We might be getting older, but the Power of Three can still kick demon butt, you know. And besides, the longer you use your powers, the stronger they're going to get. Look at your Aunt Piper. When she first got her freezing power, they would unfreeze in seconds. Then as she used them more and practiced more, she had to unfreeze them at will. Now, she can turn someone into a permanent statue if she wants to. It's all about using your powers and knowing how to control them, so that they don't control you. Don't worry so much. You'll figure it out." Paige smiled down at her.

"Okay, mom. I'll try to relax. I just hope this new power isn't something stupid like elasticity or something."

Paige laughed again. "Even that could be worse you know. You could be turned into the Incredible Hulk." She got up off the bed, and grabbed her daughter's hand. "Come on. Aunt Piper is making cookies- Chocolate Walnut Peanut Butter."

Phyra squealed with excitement. "Oh my God, I LOVE those!"

"Yeah, we know. That's why Aunt Piper is making those. We figured you deserved a little treat for successfully completing your very first time travel experience."

"Orb ya to the kitchen!" Phyra yelled. It was a game they'd played ever since Wyatt was a baby, orb racing wherever they were going instead of physically racing. The room filled with two separate sets of blue lights.


	4. Blow Hard

**A/N: As always, thanks to the loyal reviewers. I realize this might be a little bit slower moving, but I've got a lot of stuff planned for this fic, and I have to get all the stuff set up so that I can get into the meat of the story.**

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Wyatt and Abby walked hand in hand up the manor steps. For days now their lives had been blissfully normal. No demon attacks, no family traumas, and no magical issues had popped up. It wasn't a normal week, but it was one that Wyatt would take without complaint.

Abby smiled up at him. "Mmm… This has been one of the best weeks of my life, Wyatt. I love you so much. I can't believe you took me to the zoo! Those little monkeys were so cute!"

"Not as cute as you were. I can't believe you wouldn't go into the reptile house. Big bad witch, scared of a few little snakes." Wyatt teased gently.

"A few little snakes? Wyatt those things are humongous. And you know they would just love to eat you." She shivered. "No snakes for this girl."

Wyatt just chuckled and threw his arm around her shoulders, hugging her close as he opened the door to the manor. A nerf ball hit him square in the nose.

"Wyatt! Sorry! You weren't supposed to be there. Minor mistake." Phyra called from the top of the stairs.

"Phy, what are you doing? And how the heck did you throw that thing that far?" He asked with a grin as he ushered Abby inside and closed the door behind him.

"I'm practicing. Either I have gotten buff beyond all reasonable explanation, or I've got another power."

"Hey, really? What is it?"

"Watch." Phyra grabbed another ball, tossed it up in the air, and blew on it. Her breath propelled it across the room, sending it crashing into the wall, knocking down the picture of Chris & Wyatt when they were babies.

"Cool. Have you tried it with anything heavier than a ball?" Wyatt walked up the stairs to where Phyra stood.

"Only the first time. I didn't know I had a new power, and I went to blow my hair out of my face. Instead, I blew my desk over." She shrugged, still embarrassed.

"Ha! That's nothing. When I first discovered I could blow things up, I destroyed the kitchen table while we were all eating. "

"I can beat both of you. When I first used my invisibility, I was in front of my entire class giving a speech on George Washington. Keep in mind, I went to mortal school until then." Abby noted, shaking her head.

Phyra grimaced. "Ew… that had to suck."

"Definitely."

"Yeah, well, I've got all of you beat. When I first discovered my telekinesis, I accidentally stripped mom of every piece of clothing she had on." Chris announced, appearing behind them.

"EW!"

"Ugh, Chris!"

"Damn, that's nasty, bro!" All three of them broke out in equally disgusted and horrified voices.

"Oh, come on. I really didn't look that bad, did I?" Piper called out from downstairs. She laughed at the horrified expressions on her boys faces.

"Nah, Mom. Beautiful as always, of course." Chris was the first to recover.

"Ah, smart guy. You can stay in my will." Piper joked. She turned to Phyra. "So, are you having better luck with your new power?"

"Yeah, I mean, I think so. I can direct where things go now. Before I couldn't predict it, but now, it's not so bad. But the only bad part is, I can't stop anything. Like when Wyatt came in. I tried to stop the ball so it wouldn't hit him, but even though I stopped blowing, it kept going."

"Try it again, Phy. Only this time, instead of not blowing, try sucking some of your breath back in. That might work." Abby suggested. "When I go invisible because I'm embarrassed, I have to wait until I'm not embarrassed for the invisibility to reverse. Maybe the same thing will work. The opposite action for the opposite reaction."

"It's worth a shot. Wy, can you go over by the door again?"

"How come I have to be the one to the get hit again?"

"Because you're the biggest target I can find. Please?"

Wyatt grumbled a little, but did as asked. Phyra grabbed another ball, and again blew on it, sending it hurling towards Wyatt. Just as it was about to hit him, she stopped, and sucked her breath in. She grinned as she watched the ball slow, then start to come back to her. She let out a yelp of laughter as the ball fell back into her hand. "Oh my God, that is so COOL!"

Chris grinned at her obvious excitement. "Let's see if you can use it as a defensive power. I'll throw the ball at you, and then…"

"DEMON!" Phyra yelled as she saw shimmering behind Chris.

"No! No demon. Just me!" Maya squeaked out as she saw Wyatt ready to hurl an energy ball.

Wyatt extinguished his energy ball with a sigh. "Sorry, hon. I'm a little jumpy. All this demon non-activity has me a little frazzled."

Maya laughed, "You're not alone, Wy. Chris almost electrocuted himself when he called back a set of energy bolts last night when I surprised him. We have a very interesting scorch mark on our dining room floor now, though."

"Why can't the two of you just relax? Maybe the demons are just tired of dying. Shouldn't you just be enjoying your time off? Look at how much fun you've both had in the past week." Abby followed Phyra down the stairs.

"Abby, demons don't just stop with no reason." Piper added. "To be honest, I think Wyatt and Chris are right to be jumpy. Lord knows the rest of us are."

"Yeah, especially when the last time we had this little demon activity, Zankou was reforming the Underworld." Paige added, overhearing Piper's comment as she walked through the door.

"Well, that's all the more reason for me to practice right? So that way if a demon does come back bigger and badder than ever, I'll have more powers. C'mon Chris…Throw a ball at me. I wanna see if I can blow it away." Phyra giggled at her own joke.

Chris grinned good naturedly. "All right. Here it comes." He tossed the nearest nerf ball gently at Phyra. She blew hard at it, but missed. Instead the ball hit her shoulder harmlessly, and the gust of breath hit Chris in the stomach, knocking him backwards to land on the couch.

Phyra's mouth dropped open in shock. "Holy cow!" she yelled. "Chris, are you ok?"

Chris lifted his head up off the couch. "Umm Hmm. I think it's safe to say, you can use your power defensively. I feel like a dump truck ran over me."

"Oh God, quick, Wyatt, heal him! I didn't mean to hurt you, Chris!" Phy ran over and knelt beside him.

"No! No, Wy. I'm good. I don't need to be healed. I'm not really hurt. Phy, it's okay. I'm good as new. No big deal, just a little winded that's all. It's cool. I'm glad actually. At least now, I'm not going to worry so much about you. You can certainly take care of yourself." He patted the back of her head gently.

"Okay, so I couldn't take it anymore. I mean, I love the no demon part, but seriously, we're going to up to our elbows in demons any second." Phoebe announced running down the stairs. "So when Cole volunteered to go on a recon mission, I accepted. He's gone to the Underworld to check things out."

"What? You sent him out alone?" Paige asked incredulously.

Phoebe and Piper both immediately turned to stare in shock at Paige. Was that really concern for Cole coming from their baby sister?

"So, he's kinda growing on me. You know, now that he's not constantly trying to kill one of us or all of us, he's not that bad of a guy. For a demon, that is."

Wyatt laughed. "Nothing like damning him with faint praise, Aunt Paige."

"Hey, even to say anything nice about him is a step in the right direction for me. Don't push it!" Paige turned to look at Phoebe. "Besides, I see how happy he's making my sister. And he's definitely trying to be a good person now. As long as neither of those things change, I'm going to try to be nicer to him."

Phoebe gave a girlish squeal and wrapped her arms around her sister in a hug. "Oh, Paige. I'm so happy! Thank you!"

"You're welcome. But seriously, should Cole be alone? What if someone recognizes him?"

"Actually, Mom, I think it's good that he's alone. I mean, he still has all of his demonic powers. Just because he doesn't use them for evil anymore, doesn't mean they aren't still just as strong as they always were. Trust me, they're awesome. If someone messes with him, Balthazor will hand them their as…er…butts." Phyra quickly changed her words at her mother's arched eyebrow.

"Phy's right. If anyone can take care of himself in the Underworld, it's Cole." Phoebe stated calmly.

"I agree. Now, not that I mind, of course, but what are you four doing here?" Piper looked pointedly at Chris, Wyatt, Maya & Abby.

"Well, for starters, we wanted to check on Phy. With all these warnings about her new powers, we just wanted to make sure things were okay." Wyatt started.

"And we also wanted to talk to you about this lack of demon activity…" Chris added.

Maya snorted and looked at Piper. "They want Phiona. Both of them are just dying to see the baby again. That's why they're here."

"Not to mention, I think Wyatt is tired of my cooking. All I've heard for the past two days is hinting about your cooking." Abby added with a laugh.

Chris and Wyatt glanced at each other with a sheepish shrug. Piper laughed. "Phiona is upstairs sleeping with Paisley. They'll probably wake up in a little while. We're having homemade chicken pot pie tonight. If you would like to stay, there's more than enough for all of you."

"Great! Thanks, Mom! Hey, how about, I run to Yummies and grab one of those caramel cheesecakes that Chris made this morning, and bring it back for dessert? We can have a little celebration for their wedding, since the reception kind of got cut off."

Piper smiled at her sisters' enthusiastic agreement. "Sounds great, Wy. But you'd better get three of them. This is a pretty big crowd, you know."

As they all laughed and talked below, the shimmering circle appeared again at the top of the stairs, and the man stepped out again. He looked below and grinned evilly. "That's right Wyatt. Celebrate…celebrate like it's your last night on earth." He spoke softly, not alerting anyone to his presence, and stepped back into his shimmering circle, disappearing before anyone noticed he was there.

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Cole shimmered into the Underworld behind a rock formation. He could hear the normal sounds of the Underworld- screams, shrieks, growls and grunts. He stretched a little, relaxing. It was strange being a good soul inside an evil one. Being with Phoebe at the manor with her family was wonderful. Her kids had accepted his presence with a grace that surprised him. Even Paige was being tolerable. But as much as he loved that life, there was still something soothing about the dark caverns and holes of the Underworld. No matter what it was still home, and he fit into the comfort of it with the ease of a well worn shoe. He strolled down the darkened corridor, listening for any activity.

"Balthazor?" Cole whirled at the sound of a voice calling his demonic name. Instantly he changed forms.

"Who's asking?" he growled dangerously.

"Surely you recognize me, Balthazor. After all, we were once very…close." A slender, gray haired female came from around the outcropping to reveal herself.

"Knox."

"Ah, you do remember me. I'm touched."

"Don't be. I remember the name of all the beautiful assassins who try to kill me."

"I'm sure it happens often."

"You'd be surprised, actually."

"Look, I'm not after you this time. But I thought that you deserved to know this much. I, along with the rest of my brood have been hired to take the Charmed Ones and their children out. Unless you want to be vanquished with them, I suggest you stay here where it's safe."

"Hired by who?"

"That's not important, Balthazor. What is important is making sure you aren't one of the victims. We've missed you down here. The Underworld just isn't the same without you." She sighed.

"You'll have to keep on missing me. I'm sure your boss will be disappointed. There's no way you and your brood is strong enough to kill the entire Hallowell clan. They are a thousand times stronger than you." Cole shimmered away, stopping all conversation.

"Ah, my beautiful Balthazor, but who said anything about killing them?" Knox asked the darkness.

"Wonderful job, Konix. You will be well rewarded for your efforts." The shimmering circle appeared and the young man stepped out. "The Halliwell's are already confused. This will completely shock them."


	5. Onward To The Future

**A/N: I think I heard the words, "you are so evil" more after last chapter than I have after any that I've written. Does that mean it was a good one? LOL Long live the evil cliffies!**

**By the way- I now have a forum on this site, for questions, ideas, etc... about my stories. The address of my forum is now in my profile, if you want to check it out.**

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Cole shimmered in to the kitchen behind Phoebe. "Guess who? OW!" he whirled, feeling a low voltage energy ball hit him. Wyatt stood behind him, looking sheepish.

"Er…sorry Cole. I forgot you went out on a mission. I just…saw shimmering, and thought you were a demon. A real demon, that is." Wyatt stopped trying to explain and laid his hand over the bloody spot, healing him.

"You ever hit me with an energy ball again, Wyatt, and you're going to find out how 'real' of a demon I can be." Cole snapped.

"Cole, honey, he apologized, and he healed you. Stop being grumpy at him, you know we're all a little jumpy right now." Phoebe soothed, hugging him tightly.

"Besides, it was just a low voltage ball- it wasn't going to kill you." Wyatt muttered, not able to help himself.

"Just a low voltage ball." Cole sing songed back to him with a grimace.

"Okay, boys. Enough." Phoebe quickly stood between them. "Sweetie, did you find out anything? I didn't expect you back so soon."

Cole quickly sobered. "You guys were right. There's definitely something big going on. There's a group of female assassins that have been contracted to kill you all. Konix is the leader of the group. They have a special tool that allows them to get close to their victims. Simply put, they are gorgeous, both the males and the females. They are physically perfect specimens of man and womanhood. And they release pheromones- sexual come on dust, if you will. They seduce their victims to get close to them- and then they strike. They kill after the seduction."

"How do you know so much about them?" Phoebe asked suspiciously.

"Remember when the Triad was sending bounty hunters after me? Konix was one of the assassins that tried to kill me. The only reason she didn't succeed was that there is a loop hole in their pheromone enchantment. One who is truly in love, can only be temporarily seduced, but not completely go under their spell. I was totally in love with you when she tried to kill me. She managed to lure me to her lair, but I snapped out of her enchantment before she could plunge her fancy jeweled athame into my chest."

"Oh my God." Phoebe whimpered, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Honey, I'm okay. But listen, everyone in this family has got to be on their toes. If there is any- and I do mean any- relationship issues, you need to get them out in the open now. Fix it, because they will detect any chink in your armor, and use it against you. These assassins aren't anything to play around with. They are powerful and capable. And they have a high power client that wants you all dead."

"So how do we resist the pheromones? I mean, Mom, Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe are all protected. They all are in love with no obvious problems, at least as far as I know. Me and Chris are totally in love with Abby & Maya, so that's not a problem. And Paisley is totally content with Ryan. But the girls…they don't have anyone. Are they at risk as young as they are?" Wyatt asked anxiously.

"Every one of you is at risk as long as you are old enough to feel love, which means the only one immune to them is Phiona. She's too young to experience the emotion of love."

"Oh, come on! Phyra's only 13, she's not old enough for love!" Wyatt protested.

"Think about it, Wyatt. How old were you when you had your first case of puppy love?"

Wyatt's face drained of color. "About 12. Jenny Millhouse."

"There you go. She's old enough." Cole got a charge out of being right. There was something about Wyatt that irritated him sometimes. Wyatt had a habit of always thinking he was right. When Cole could prove him wrong, he always got a surge of pure happiness.

"So how do they fight these things off?" Phoebe asked, scared for her daughter and nieces.

"For starters, we hope that there is some guy, somewhere that they are infatuated with. But in case they don't, you need to get them somewhere safe. There has to be some place that evil cannot go." Cole responded thoughtfully.

"No, Cole. Everywhere that good magic can go, bad magic can too. Even 'Up There' with the Elders. It takes a high power level concentration, but they can do it. There isn't a place anywhere that only good magic can exist."

"Well, not a place in this time anyway." Chris input from the doorway.

"Huh?"

"Remember when Future Chris & Future Wyatt were here last year? Well Future Chris and I talked for a few minutes, and he told me that one of his kids had discovered a place in the future that only good magic could access. Evil was instantly repelled from the boundaries of this place."

"Well, that's all well and good, Chris, but unless we can find that place now, it can't help us." Phoebe whispered.

"We don't need to find it now. Phy, Patience and Pey are the most at risk, right? So why don't I just send them to the future for a while? Then when these assassins strike, they'll only meet us, and we'll all be able to fight them off. Then I can go and get the three of them when it's safe again."

"I don't know, that's awfully risky, Chris. What if it changes, or if it doesn't work. I don't want my daughter trapped in the future forever!"

"Aunt Phoebe, they won't be alone in the future. Future me and Future Wyatt will work to keep them safe. Not to mention, their future selves will help. Look, how else are we going to protect them? Isn't it better to take a risk this way, than to risk leaving them here to get seduced to death?"

"Actually, I'd rather protect them myself, Chris."

"Yeah, I know. I'd rather them stay here so that I can personally see to their safety too. But we both know that if we get even temporarily seduced, our minds won't be on them. We will leave them vulnerable. Do you really want to take that chance?"

"Of course not. But, oh, God…I just don't know what to do. Cole, what do you think?" Phoebe looked up into the eyes of her fiancée.

Cole stood in shock. As much as he knew Phoebe loved him, this was the first time she'd ever asked his advice on dealing with an issue involving her children. "Well, I'm not a parent, Pheeb. But I think if I were, I'd want to keep them safe at all costs. I think you should send them to the future to the good magic place. Besides, if you think about how powerful Wyatt and Chris are now, they must evolve over time, so they must be absolutely awe-inspiring in the future. They'll protect them." Cole snorted. "Well, as long as the little darlings don't team up on them and cast a spell." He still hadn't totally gotten over Phyra and Peyton tricking him to go to Vegas.

"Okay. If you all think that this is the right way, I'll agree. But Chris, I want you to bring them, not just open the portal. You go with them, and make sure that they are in the right place, and that everything is okay before you leave them there."

"I will, Aunt Phoebe. I promise, I won't take any chances with their safety."

"Okay then. As long as you guys can convince Paige, then I'm in."

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"No, no, no! You are not taking my daughters to the future. Do you remember your future Chris? What if you take them into Hell? No, I want my girls here where I can keep them safe." Paige insisted angrily at the family meeting Chris & Wyatt had called.

"Aunt Paige! You can't keep them safe from this. You heard what Cole said. If they aren't in love, then they can't fight this off. Wouldn't you rather your girls be alive and apart from you for a while, than dead and with you for a few days more?" Chris broke in with brutal cutting honesty.

Paige's eyes glittered with tears, as she burrowed into Jax's arms for comfort. "I don't want to lose my girls, Paige. If you won't agree to send them to the future, then I will." Jax spoke quietly.

"Jax, they are 13 and 15. What if something goes wrong? What if this new good magic haven has been breeched by now? What if…what if something has changed, and Chris' old future is now the new future? It's not just the girls I'm worried about. Chris is going too, at least for a few minutes. If there is still an evil dictator running around, then Chris will be a target."

"Aunt Paige, we have absolutely no reason to assume that the future is evil again. If it were, Future Chris would have come back to change it again." Wyatt argued.

"Only if he were able to come back! What if he died this time before he could come back? Or what if he is the evil one this time?" Paige tossed out the horrid scenarios as quickly as they came to her mind.

"Paige, honey, you have to trust them. Chris and Wyatt aren't stupid. They won't take chances with Phyra, Peyton or Patience. Chris will be careful, I know he will. You're forgetting, he's got a lot at stake here too. This family, your family, is his family. He's already saved this family a hundred times, Paige. Let him do it again." Piper spoke from within the safety of Leo's arms.

"How can you want him to do this, Piper? You know how dangerous it is!"

"I _don't_ want him to do this! I don't _like_ him risking his life. But I also know that he has to do it. It's in his destiny to manipulate time to save members of this family. I can't and I won't stand in the way of that. I wish you would do the same."

"Look, Paige, there just isn't any other way to make certain the girls are safe. We could send them 'Up There' with the Elders, but they'd still be at risk. This is the best way to ensure that the assassins can't find them." Leo's soft voice calmed the volatile tension.

Paige stared at her daughters. "I'll let the two of you decide. What do you think is best for you?" She finally decided to take the decision out of her hands.

Phyra answered slowly. "I think Chris is right, Mom. I don't wanna have some nasty greasy demon for a lover. Ugh! No offense." She tossed a quick look at Cole and Phoebe. "I mean, I want to fall in love for real, not because I'm under some demon's enchantment. And you guys would probably rush in and save us before he killed me, but still…he'd still get me to sleep with him, and that'd just be nasty." She exchanged glances with Peyton and Patience. "We want to go to the future."

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Chris drew the triquetra in the attic, as he talked to his cousins. "Okay, so all of you need to be on your absolute best behavior, all right? No casting spells, or causing any magical havoc of any kind. Got it?"

"Yes, mommy." Patience replied sarcastically.

"I mean it. You guys can't make too much of an effort to find out about yourselves in the future. Future Consequences are very real, and cannot be taken lightly. You have to be careful."

"We will Chris. Don't worry. We'll be okay."

"All right. You guys ready?"

"Yeah."

"Yup."

"Let's just go already!" Phyra yelled excitedly.

Chris grinned. "Okay, let me go through first. I want to be the first out to make sure everything is as it should be."

They stepped through the glowing portal, and exited into the attic in another timeline. Chris stopped as he heard an oddly familiar voice. "The last time this happened, I was the one stepping out of that portal you know."


	6. Oysters & Olives

**A/N: Special thanks to pinkrockprincess, who called me "the queen of evil cliffies". I like that... : ) **

**Small programming note here- With the upcoming holidays, I'm probably not going to be able to update as often as normal. I will try for at least 2-3 chapters a week until after New Years, and then I'll try to get back to my normal daily updates.**

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Chris tensed and immediately stepped in front of his cousins to protect them, as he flung his right hand out with a quick motion, sending a nearby trunk sliding towards the voice. Patience touched Chris, and sensing his tension, used her own powers to form a protective shield around the four of them.

They watched as the trunk was stopped, and sent sliding back to its original place harmlessly. A rusty chuckle came from the shadows, and a tall black haired man stepped from the shadows. Phyra gasped as she stared at the figure, a perfect image of Chris, only years older. Other than the slight graying at his temples, and a few fine wrinkles, he looked exactly the same as the one standing next to her.

"Hello, Chris, Phy, Patience & Pey. It's good to see you all again."

"Um, you too, Chris." Phyra was the first one to respond. She took a step forward only to be blocked by Patience's shield. She sighed audibly. "Put your shield down, stupid. It's just Chris."

Patience looked over at their Chris, getting his nod, and released her shield.

"So, I assume you know why we're here?" Chris asked.

"Yep. Konix and her assassins, right?"

"Yeah. Can you tell me…?" Chris' voice trailed off, leaving the question unasked.

"Oh, come on. You are me. You know as well as I do that I can't answer that. I can't tell you the outcome, it might change it."

Chris nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, I know."

"However, Chris, I will tell you this much. There is one couple in the family that's not as safe as you think. Make sure all the issues are worked out, or there's lots of drama in store."

Chris got a sinking feeling in his stomach. This just didn't sound good. "Just what we all need in our lives- more drama."

Future Chris chuckled darkly. "Yeah, I remember. They'll be perfectly safe in the White Zone." He motioned to the girls, still standing next to the portal.

"The White Zone?" Phyra asked curiously.

"Yeah, that's what we call the space that only good magic can be used. It's great. Our kids love it there. It's like Magic School without the authority figures."

"Wait… No one is going to be there with them?" Chris asked, slightly aghast.

"They'll be fine, Chris. We've got a problem of our own to work on right now." Future Chris' face tighten in obvious distress.

"If you have too much to deal with, or if they're going to be in danger…" Chris started.

"No. No, they'll be fine. Like I said before, nothing evil can permeate the White Zone. And as far as the issue we're working on… well, it's just another day in the life of the Halliwell's, you know?" He offered a self-defacing grin.

"Are you sure? Aunt Paige & Aunt Phoebe will kill me if anything happens to them."

Future Chris snorted. "And you wouldn't feel guilty at all, right? Listen, I swear to you, nothing bad will happen to these girls while they're here. I had the same worries that you do. But now I know… they'll be fine. In fact, they might just learn a few tricks here that they can use in the past. All in all, just don't worry about them. You're needed at home now. Focus on that, then come back and get them when it's safe."

"Yeah, okay. I know you're right." Chris looked at his cousins. "All right, listen up, you three. You guys be good, and don't snoop around. There are some things in the future that you just shouldn't know. Listen to what Chris tells you. If he says you can't do something, there's a really really good reason. I know I don't have to tell you that the things you learn when time traveling can have serious repercussions when you get back home. So, just…be good. I love you guys."

Phyra ran to him and hugged him tightly. "I love you too. Don't worry about us. We'll be okay." She teasingly blew lightly on his cheek, and knocked him back a few steps. She started to giggle as he walked back to her and pulled her ponytail lightly. Patience and Peyton were more reserved in their good byes, not wanting to look like children, settling for simply saying "bye, Chris."

Chris turned to his future self. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Any time."

Chris grinned and turned back to the portal. Phyra's voice stopped him. "Chris! Wait! I almost forgot. Listen, before we left, I thought of a potion that might help you guys. You need elderberry root, chive, 3 oysters, 4 olives and a cup of goat's hair. Mix enough for all of you. Make sure all of you take it!"

"Oysters and olives? Phy, that sounds like you're mixing an aphrodisiac." Chris said doubtfully.

"Well, it sort of is. Actually, it's a potion I made to help vamp up the feelings of being in love."

"Why would you make a potion like that, Phy? Love isn't generally demonic in nature."

"I know. But it was back when Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Les were fighting all the time. I thought if I could make them remember what love was like, they'd make up. It didn't work though. It only made them happy for a week or two, then they were even worse." Phyra looked down at her feet in embarrassment.

"Phy, look at me." Phyra slowly looked up. "It's not your fault that Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Les got divorced. It's no one's fault. Honey, no potion could have changed what was meant to be."

"I know that now. But none of that is the point. The point is, my potion worked Chris. They did fall back in love for a little while. And Konix and the others can't get you if you're in love. So please, just make the potion, okay?"

"Okay. I'll make the potion. Thanks, kiddo."

"You're welcome. Be careful!" she warned nervously.

"I will be. You too." Chris winked at her before he stepped back into the portal.

"I'm scared, you guys. Something just isn't right." Phyra said quietly as they watched the portal close.

Future Chris walked over to them, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, I've been through this before. It's going to turn out all right."

"I hope so." She said quietly, before allowing herself to be led out of the attic behind her sister and cousin.

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_(THE PRESENT)_

"Yo! I'm back!" Chris yelled as he stepped through the portal back into his own time.

"_CHRIS! HURRY!" _Chris heard Wyatt's shout echo through his mind. He knew that yell, it was the 'demons-are-attacking-and-about-to-win' yell. He orbed as fast as possible down to the dining room, just missing orbing into a dark lighter's arrow mid flight. Piper yelled, and froze the dark lighter, giving Chris a chance to zap him with elder bolts. Chris tensed as he saw Wyatt fighting four demons by himself, hurling energy balls at them.

"Wyatt! They're Barsi demons! Don't use your energy balls!" Chris yelled.

Wyatt immediately stopped, and started using his telekinesis instead. "Why not?" Wyatt yelled back.

"They feed off them. The more energy balls you throw, the more… ugh….powerful they'll get." Chris yelled back dodging a fire ball the demon nearest him had sent. Chris deflected it with his own TK, sending the demon screaming in pain and exploding in a messy fireball.

"Blast them, Mom!" Chris yelled, trying to help Wyatt, but still busy with the other fire ball thrower. Piper nodded and flicked her hands a few times, sending two of the Barsi's up in flames. The other two started to shimmer away, but Wyatt hit one of them with an explosion of his own before he could escape.

"Chris, duck!" Wyatt yelled, seeing the fire ball demon start up another one. Wyatt hurled an energy ball at him, whizzing it over Chris' head. It hit the demon squarely in the chest, extinguishing his fire ball, and vanquishing him immediately.

"Whew…what the heck was that?" Chris sighed, seeing no other demons around.

"I don't know. They just attacked in a pack. It was weird, it was like they knew you weren't here. Demons that never attack together were all of a sudden all here at once. Weird…but anyway…Are the girls safe?" Wyatt asked.

"Yeah, Future me met us at the portal. He's going to take them to the White Zone. That's the place that only good magic can work from."

"Good, good. That's one less thing we have to worry about then."

"Where is everyone anyway?" Chris asked, still feeling twitchy from the demon attack.

"Well, we kind of all had a small epiphany. If these assassins manage to get to one of us, the others should all see it, and maybe snap them out of it. So we were thinking, it would probably be best for us all to be in the manor for awhile. So, Abby and Maya are over at the house, packing for the four of us. Dad is gone to Magic School. He had to check over a couple of students, and he should be right back. Aunt Paige and Uncle Jax went grocery shopping, since there's going to be more people than normal around. And Aunt Phoebe took Cole to Heavenly Offerings to get some extra potion supplies."

"How come you didn't go to Heavenly Offerings? You love that creepy, musty magic supply store."

"They said I would just take too long! Can you believe that? Whatever." Wyatt protested, acting upset. "Anyway, so I stayed here with mom to help her make beds up and all. I guess it was better that way anyway, what with the demon attack."

"Oh, all right. Listen, I've got to make a potion. Phy told me about it right before I left them. It sounds kind of hokey, but I think it will help in the long run." Chris proceeded to explain Phyra's potion and ingredients.

Wyatt started to laugh. Chris and Piper just stared at him, not understanding his humor. Wyatt stopped to wipe tears of laughter off his face, gasping for breath. "What? No one finds it the least little bit funny that our thirteen year old cousin made an orgy potion?"

Chris shoved Wyatt with a laugh. "It's not an orgy potion. She was trying to make something that would help make love last. I don't think she quite realized the significance of the ingredients."

"Ah. Okay. Well, let me help you with the potion so we can get our freak on, then."

"WYATT MATTHEW HALLIWELL!" Piper yelled, exasperated. "Do you have to tease your cousin, when she's not even here?"

Wyatt grinned shamelessly. "I have to keep my skills honed, Mom."

"Oh, go help your brother." Piper growled, a little annoyed, even though she was amused.

Wyatt grinned again. "Yes, mommy. OW!" He walked into the kitchen muttering about child abuse as he rubbed the spot on the back of his head that Piper had slapped.

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The shimmering circle appeared in front of the group of demon assassins. The young man stepped out, and surveyed them calmly.

"As you all know, I have hired you to destroy the Halliwell's. You all have your targets. However, be certain not to be caught. As you know, I have no name and no identity that would be found in their Book of Shadows. You will seem liars, and will face more of their wrath for the trouble."

Konix stepped forward calmly. "You have hired us all. However, you have left out a key target in the Halliwell line. You have given none of us the assignment of Chris Halliwell, the Thrice-Blessed. You cannot mean to let him live. He will destroy us all, and you with us."

"Chris Halliwell will know what it is to be alone! No longer will he have a loving family who cherishes the ground he walks on. He does not deserve it! And he will get exactly what he deserves. That is my destiny."


	7. The Education of Reilly

**A/N: Everyone wants to know about the shimmering circle demon. This chapter and the next should explain most of your questions.**

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"Chris, what is that smell?" Piper asked, horrified as she waved her hand in front of her face.

"Phyra's potion. Noxious, huh?"

"Oy… and she said this was supposed to promote love? Seems more like it'd promote distance." Her eyes were watering at the strong odor.

"Yeah, well, only one way to find out. DAD!" Chris yelled as he grabbed two potion bottles.

"No, no, no. You are not using us as guinea pigs, Chris." Piper protested as Leo orbed in.

"I was coming back in a second, I swear, Piper. This one student just had a lot of questions, and well…" Leo's voice trailed off as he saw Piper wasn't angry with him.

"Actually, Dad, I need you and Mom to try out this potion for me. Making a long story short, Phyra made a love potion, she thinks it'll work to strengthen our bonds with the ones we love. I want to try it out, but I figured it would be best to test on you guys, since you've been in love longest."

"Come on, Chris, do you really think we'll need this?" Leo asked skeptically.

"Maybe, maybe not, but either way, isn't it always you who told us better safe than sorry? What harm can it do? These assassins aren't going to be easy to defeat from what Cole said. Why take any chances when we don't have to?"

"You know, it's not fair using my own lectures against me, son. Give me the bottle." Leo sighed. Chris handed each of his parents a bottle with a grin. Piper cautiously tipped the bottle to her lips and swallowed it quickly. Leo quickly followed suit.

Chris stood in front of them expectantly. "Well, do you feel anything?"

"Not really Chris, I..." Leo broke off suddenly, staring at Piper. "God, have I ever told you how beautiful you are? Your hair…your eyes…your smile…Michelangelo couldn't have captured perfection better."

Piper grinned beautifully, and Chris watched in awe as he eyes softened, and she blushed a little. "Leo…you haven't said anything like that in years. I…You are the most perfect man I can ever imagine. I've loved you for twenty nine years, and I'll love you for a hundred more." She lovingly ran her fingers down his jaw.

Chris murmured to himself. "Well, I guess it's safe to say the potion works. Now when everyone else gets here too, I'll hand it out, and we should be safe."

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The shimmering circle appeared in the back room of P3. The club was deserted, and he knew he'd be alone. Since he had been a little boy, this club had been his refuge. It was the one place that no one looked for him. All the times he had fought with his mom, his aunt & uncle, his grandparents, his cousins, and especially his father, this was the one place that he was able to hide in plain sight. He swallowed hard, over the lump in his throat as he thought of his family. They'd given up on him long ago, leaving him with only his baby sister. Then his father had even taken her away. He had to pay. He'd make him pay.

The young man stood and looked up into the mirror above the cot that still lay in the office. Reflecting back on him was the same reflection that had always been there- a tall, wiry kid trying desperately to be a man. His face hardened as he stared at his reflection. If he had control of his powers, he'd glamour permanently into something else, someone else. But that had never been a priority. The priority, as always was saving innocents.

He hated the dark hair and wiry build he'd inherited from his father. Luckily, he had his grandmother's eyes, a chocolaty brown that warmed to the color of brandy when he was happy. He stared for awhile longer, seeing all the things that no one else bothered to look for. He saw his own innate goodness, while everyone else only saw his powers that gave him a demonic look. It was the powers that had never let his family quite be convinced that his actions on that day so long ago were an accident.

He grimaced at the thought. He hadn't thought of Keira in months. His cousin had been the brightest person in his life. They were the same age, and had grown up closer than twins, sharing everything from secrets to Halloween candy. The mere two week age difference was no barrier to their closeness. No matter what they all thought, he NEVER would have hurt her. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't heal. He had no control over the powers that were doled out to him.

Against his wishes, that day came rushing back to him.

"_Keira, come back. We're not supposed to play here!"_

"_Whatever, you chicken. What are you afraid a big bad demon will come get us?" Keira laughed, the sound echoing in the dark alleyway._

"_Keira, my dad is gonna be really mad when he finds out we're here. Both our dads will be."_

"_Oh, come on, Reilly. This is the only place where we can practice our magic without an audience. Come on, please? Let's just play a little bit."_

"_Okay. Hit me with your best shot, cuz." Reilly laughed as Keira conjured a knife, and threw it telekinetically. Reilly immediately held up a palm and froze it in midair, and with a twist of his finger made it disappear. _

"_Go hide, Rei. I wanna try my sensing skills." Reilly nodded, and orbed away. Keira ran behind a dumpster, and closed her eyes, concentrating on finding Reilly._

"_Well, well. A little witch…all alone." The demon appeared from out of nowhere, and grabbed Keira from behind._

_She screamed shrilly and yelled for her cousin "REILLY!". He immediately orbed back in, having a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach._

"_Keira, orb! Go!" he yelled, feeling his powers start to bubble in his stomach._

"_I can't! Reilly, help!" she screamed, as the demon plunged his razor sharp hands into her chest. She screamed again, shrilly in pain. _

_Reilly closed his eyes and prayed that he wouldn't miss, as he called up a fire ball, hurling it at the demon's head. It connected, with a hiss as the demon vanished, hurt but not vanquished. Reilly fell to his knees, seeing that there was still a gaping hole in Keira's chest. "NO!" Reilly screamed, as he realized what demon had just attacked. As if he was standing next to him, his father's voice echoed through his mind. 'A Kintajou demon will appear instantly and steal the hearts of his victims.'_

_He laid his hands over Keira's body, trying desperately to heal her. "Oh, God, work, please, please work! Keira….Keira no! Please!" Reilly wept as his hands remained over her chest, but without the healing glow that both his father and uncle possessed. "DAD! UNCLE WYATT!" he screamed, knowing that it was too late, but needing to try anyway._

_Chris and Wyatt orbed in immediately, taking in the scene before them. "KEIRA!" Wyatt screamed, scrambling to get to his daughter. He immediately laid his hands over her, trying to heal her. After long minutes, he looked up at Chris with tears in his eyes. He shook his head silently. _

"_No! No, Uncle Wyatt. You can heal her. Maybe if both of you try. Please, please!" Reilly begged._

"_It's no use, Reilly. She's gone." Wyatt's voice was unintentionally harsh._

_Chris stood silent, staring at his niece's body. A look crossed his face, as he looked to his son. "Let's go home, Reilly. This isn't the place for this discussion." He grabbed his son's arm and orbed them both to the manor. Wyatt followed, cradling his daughter's body in his arms._

"_Reilly, I'm only going to ask this one time. What the HELL were you doing in that alley? I've told you a thousand times, it's too dangerous to be there. It's a known demon area! What were you thinking?" Chris' voice was rough and hard with emotion._

_Reilly's mouth worked, but nothing came out. He wanted to tell the truth, that Keira had wanted to go, but it wasn't fair to blame her. She was already gone. "I thought that we could go there and work on my powers. Since mine are so different, I thought that maybe they wouldn't be noticed by demons, cause I got mostly demonic powers."_

"_You're lying." Chris stated coldly. "Don't bother to deny it, Reilly. I can feel it with my empathy."_

"_But, Dad, I…" _

"_No! I don't want to hear it! You wanna know what I think happened? I think you got careless. You and Keira were playing your normal games, and you got a little carried away with your roughness. Your powers are demonic. They are rooted in evil, and you can't control them. You think I didn't see the scorch mark on her cheek, Reilly? I'm not stupid! Do I really need to have your Uncle Wyatt touch it to get a premonition on whose fire ball left that mark?"_

"_D...dad…I'm sorry. I didn't…"_

"_Quit lying to me! For Christ's sake, Reilly! I really didn't want to have to do this. Wyatt…touch the mark." Chris' voice broke as Wyatt solemnly nodded and touched the mark._

_Wyatt's eyes were hard, the normal twinkling blue, a harsh cobalt color. "It was your fire ball, Reilly. Why did you hurt her? She loved you!" _

"_Uncle Wyatt…I didn't hurt her. I didn't. It was my fire ball, but…I didn't kill her, I swear. There was a demon. He shimmered in… just appeared." Reilly's voice was stumbling for words, not able to talk normally under the harsh, condemning glare of both his father and uncle._

"_A demon… how handy." Wyatt snorted angrily._

"_What demon, Reilly?" Chris asked at the same time._

"_He was there…I swear…he was! The Kint…Katn… I can't remember how to say it!" Reilly sobbed._

"_I've heard enough, Chris. How much more of this are we expected to take? He either killed Keira, or got her killed! We can't trust him anymore!" Wyatt burst out angrily._

_Chris sighed. "Reilly, I need the truth, and I need it right now. Too many lies are catching up to you."_

"_I'm…not…lying!" Reilly gasped through his sobs._

"_Like you weren't lying about what happened at Magic School? Or did you think Grampa Leo wouldn't tell me about that? You remember that right? The little incident where you used your fire power against three younger boys, injuring them so badly that Grampa Leo had to heal them all! Reilly, I'm sick and tired of this. Your powers are demonic. And I hate to even think this, but you're starting to act like a demon! And that's one thing that I will not allow."_

"_Dad…Magic school...those boys, they were t…teasing Ph..Phoenix!" he protested remembering the incident a few weeks ago when three boys a few years younger than him had been teasing his youngest cousin with conjured snakes._

"_Oh, I don't believe this!" Wyatt burst out. "Phoenix wasn't even there that day! Paisley kept her out of school because she was sick!"_

"_No!" Reilly protested, knowing that it seemed that way, but it was really a spell he and Keira had cooked up to protect Phoenix from having to tell the family about it._

"_That's it! I've heard enough, Reilly. First thing tomorrow, me, Wyatt and Phyra are binding your powers. You've hurt enough people already. I'm not letting you hurt anyone else. I should have done this months ago, then maybe Keira would still be alive. It's a regret I'll carry with me forever." Wyatt and Chris left the room abruptly, as if they couldn't stand the sight of Reilly. He sank down on the floor of the living room, sobbing and crying, knowing he'd lost his family forever._

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Reilly stood lost in memories as he stared at himself in the mirror. His father hadn't gotten the chance to bind his powers the next day, because Reilly had left the manor hours later. For years, the only contact he'd had with his family was the occasional visit by his youngest sister, Raven. After Chris had found out about the clandestine visits, Raven's every move was monitored, and she could no longer visit him. He'd lost everyone he'd ever cared for, or ever loved. This time, he'd have his revenge, and no one could stop him.


	8. The Past Meets The Future

**A/N: Well well… it seems everyone likes me! LOL I got lots of great reviews on the last chapter and I appreciate them all. I've had some great feedback, and I hope you guys don't mind, but I'll probably use a few of your ideas! More on Reilly in this chapter!**

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_(The future)_

"Wow, this place looks awesome, Chris!" Phyra exclaimed happily as they walked through the manor.

"Thanks, but you should probably tell Wyatt and Abby that. They're the ones that came up with the cash to renovate this place."

"So are we going to get to meet our cousins?" Patience asked curiously.

"I…don't think so, guys. It could be dangerous. You know, future consequences if you know too much about them." Chris shrugged. "Besides, I have to get you guys to the White Zone ASAP. There won't be time."

"Already? We have to go already? Can't I just see mom for a second? Please, Chris?" Peyton begged.

"No! Peyton, things here aren't the same as they are where you're from. I can't take chances with any of your lives. You guys are too important to the future."

"But Chris, we just want to talk to them. It's not like we're going to go demon hunting or anything."

"Phyra, look, you need to go to the White Zone, right now. We have a major…demon that has fallen off our radar. And he's got a huge beef with the Halliwells." Chris looked haunted. "One we most likely deserve, at least one I deserve."

"Huh? Chris that doesn't make any sense. Why would a demon be justified in trying to kill us?" Phyra stopped and looked at her future cousin.

"I can't discuss this right now with you. You can't know too much about this. It would change it too much." He answered brusquely.

"Well, did ya ever think that might be a good thing? I mean, if this demon is so justified, it probably means you did something to him, right? So if we can figure out what that was, maybe we can change it, so that you don't piss him off, and then he won't be after y'all." Peyton explained slowly as if she was talking to an idiot.

"After what I did to him, he'll be after me forever, Peyton." Chris answered quietly.

"The demon…he's your…son?" Patience said questioningly, having read his emotions empathically.

Chris' face shuttered, waves of obvious pain reflecting in his eyes. "All right. You guys may as well sit down. This could take awhile."

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_(the Present)_

"Mmm… I love you honey."

"I love you too. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Ugh… would someone PLEASE orb them to a room? I can't stand that anymore. Who knew my brother was so disgustingly sappy?" Chris moaned, listening to Wyatt and Abby's continued declarations of love.

"You're the one that gave us all that potion, Chris." Piper reminded him lazily, from her perch on Leo's lap.

"How did I ever live this long without you?"

"ARGH! Bedroom!" Chris yelled, with a wave of his hand towards Chris & Abby. They disappeared in a shower of orbs as Chris orbed them away. "Ahhh" he sighed. "Much better."

Maya laughed at the look on his face, and cuddled in closer to his side. He wrapped his arm around her, content and for once, truly happy.

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"_Reilly, you need to concentrate. Your white lighter powers should be stronger than your others. You're only 1/8 demon." Chris coached his son gently._

"_Dad, I don't know why. But it's SO much easier to shimmer instead of orb!"_

"_I know, but Reilly, you can keep taking the easy way out. You need to be able to use all of your powers, not just the demonic ones. Besides, the demonic powers can be hypnotic, and make you crave power. I don't want you to have to rely only on those powers. Come on, try again."_

_Reilly sighed; his dad just didn't get it. "Dad, I'm not a good white lighter. I can't heal, I can't sense, and I can barely orb. Face it; those aren't ever going to be enough for me to help fight demons."_

"_Rei, I get what you're saying. Honestly, I do. But buddy, you have to keep trying, and eventually all those things will get easier. Just don't give up okay?"_

"_Okay. Dad, can we stop for awhile though? I'm starting to get tired."_

"_Of course we can. How about some ice cream?" Chris smiled down at his son._

"_Wow! Really? Awesome!"_

"_Come on. Hey, Rei?"_

"_Yeah, Dad?"_

"_I want you to remember something, okay pal?" Reilly nodded. "No matter what happens, you can always come to me. You can always be honest with me. I love you."_

_Reilly smiled, feeling secure in the knowledge of his father's love. "I know. I love you too, dad."_

Reilly woke, sitting up, his face and body covered in sweat. He didn't want to remember the good days, before his dad and uncle had turned on him. It wasn't fair. Why were things all so complicated? Just when he was inches away from gaining his revenge, all of sudden the good memories show up? What the hell was going on?

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_(The future)_

"Reilly is my son, my oldest. He ended up with both white lighter powers and demonic powers, like Maya. Only in him, the demonic powers were far stronger, and he figured them out much easier. The sight of my son using demonic powers so readily scared me. I've seen so many members of this family cross the line between evil and good so easily, that I spent every minute of every day terrified he would as well."

"He was a good kid, though. He was kind and loving, generous and unselfish. He got into the normal mischief that any kid would. Little things like fibbing about breaking a vase, or finger-painting on the coffee table were major deals. I made them into major deals. I was way too strict. I can see it now. Mom and dad, they tried to get me to see it, but I insisted that I was right. The almighty Chris Halliwell couldn't possibly be wrong about something as important as his son's morality." Chris' voice was bitter with self-recrimination.

"Instead, I made huge mistakes. When my girls used their first personal gain spells, I sat them down like dad did with me and explained why they couldn't do them, how bad it was. But Reilly, his first personal gain spell was for someone else. It was when the manor was being renovated, and Wyatt and Abby wanted to replace the chandelier. We couldn't find anyone to do it, so Reilly cast a spell to do it. As always, it backfired, and even though the chandelier looked great, the ceiling rotted around it, and needed to be replaced. I went nuts, telling him how stupid and reckless it had been. I didn't even acknowledge the fact that his 'personal gain' was actually for the entire family's pleasure."

"Jeez, you were a jerk!" Patience spat out, feeling bad for her cousin.

"Yeah, I was." Chris acknowledged with a nod. "But it gets worse. When Reilly was 13, he and his cousin Keira went off to an alleyway to practice their magic. Wyatt and I had warned them both hundreds of times not to be there, but they didn't listen to us. They knew how dangerous it could be, but they still went anyway. To make a long story short, Keira was killed by a demon in that alley. Reilly tried to vanquish the demon with a fire ball, but it didn't work. It connected, and weakened him, but he got away. Keira's face had a scorch mark on it from the projectory of the fire ball. Reilly tried to heal her, but he hadn't learned how to heal yet. He called for Wyatt and me, and when we got there, all we saw, was her blood on his hands, the scorch mark on her face, and the fact that she was dead. We brought them both home, and…God; I still can't believe the things I said to him. I blamed him for his cousin- not to mention his best friend's death. So did Wyatt. I can forgive Wyatt's accusation, after all, he was still holding his daughter's body, and grief can do terrible things. But me…I just…There's no excuse. I told him that I was binding his powers the next morning, and I just…walked away. I could hear him sobbing, but I just…left."

"A few hours later, I tried to go talk to him. I got my head back on, but he was already gone. After a few weeks, I found him finally. But by then, I'd pushed him over the edge. He wasn't the same kid. He was…cruel and cold, almost emotionless. My actions had forced his. When I blamed him for Keira's death, I pushed him over the edge from good to evil. He's a demon now, and I have only myself to blame."

"So what's your plan? Are you going back in time to save him?"

Chris snorted derisively. "Actually, I've been thinking I have to go back in time to find him."

"Find him? What do you mean? Isn't he the 'big bad' you've been worried about?" Phyra added.

"Well, it turns out that as Reilly got older, his powers naturally progressed. He inherited my time traveling abilities. But one thing he never figured out how to do was block us sensing for him. But now we can't sense him. And the only reason that could possibly happen is for him to either be dead or in another time."

"Or in the Underworld." Patience added.

"Actually, no. We can sense in the Underworld now. Well, at least we can sense each other in the Underworld now."

"So what happens when you find him? Are you really going to fight your own son, Chris?" Peyton touched his hand comfortingly. Instantly, she was thrown into a premonition.

She saw a shimmering circle with a young man that looked a lot like Chris step out onto the stairs above their living room in the manor. He looked down on the family as they were praising Phyra's new blowing power. The scene then changed to the sight of the same shimmering circle appearing in front of the assassin demons.

"HOLY SHIT!" She screamed!

"Did you just have a PREMONITION?" Patience gasped.

"Yeah. And it was bad. Big time bad. We've got to get home! Now!" Peyton moaned.

"What? No. You guys have to stay here where it's safe." Chris protested.

"Why? What did you see?" Phyra asked at the same time.

"Reilly travels in a shimmering circle, huh Chris?" Peyton asked shakily.

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"He's in our time. He's the one that's hiring the assassin seducers. He wants to kill everyone but you. He says that's his destiny."

"What? No, you're wrong. A demon named Yofru hired the assassins. He admitted it to us. It wasn't Reilly." Chris protested.

"Maybe not for you then. But it is now, for our Chris. We have to warn him!" Peyton argued.

"You can't go back to that time. If you do, you'll all be killed. I won't let that happen. Chris and Wyatt and your parents can take care of themselves." Chris insisted.

Phyra looked at Chris stubbornly, and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Fine. I'll try it my way then." She orbed back up into the attic, and grabbed the piece of chalk lying on the trunk. She carefully drew a triquetra on the floor and placed a candle at the tip of each triangle, lighting them carefully. She scribbled on a piece of paper quickly sketching out a spell. Chris, Peyton & Patience orbed in behind her, staring in surprise.

"Phyra, you cannot time travel back, no matter how much you want to." Chris argued.

"I'm not going to. Just watch and shut up for a few minutes. I'm going to try something." Phyra grabbed the Book of Shadows off its perch, and stepped into the center of the triquetra. She closed her eyes, and placed her hands flat on the cover of the book. She opened them briefly, and grinned. "By the way, don't be surprised if Wyatt shows up in a minute or two."

She closed her eyes again, and murmured under her breath, 'here goes nothing.'

'_Through the sands of wind and time, _

_Let them hear me like a chime._

_Cousins linked through now and past,_

_Let us speak, and let it last.'_

"_Chris? Wyatt?" _ Phyra asked telepathically.


	9. The Past Meets The Future Volume 2

**A/N: Thanks for everyone who reviewed! I appreciate you guys SO much! To those who mentioned what a jerk Chris is, please keep in mind that only FUTURE Chris is a jerk… present Chris still has a chance. At least, I think he does… time travel confuses me, which is scary since I'm the pilot of this particular vehicle…. Anyway… enough rambling…**

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(_The Present)_

"_Chris? Wyatt? Can you hear me?"_ Chris sat up abruptly, pushing Maya to the floor in the process.

"What the…?" Maya started angrily, stopping as she saw the look on his face. "What is it? A charge?"

"No…I think it's Phy." He answered quickly. '_Wyatt? Did you hear that too?' _He asked his brother telepathically.

'_Damn it! I was hoping that was just a figment of my imagination. How can she possibly be here? I thought Chris was going to protect them!' _Wyatt groused back grumpily. He threw open the door to the room, heading downstairs to meet Chris.

'_Umm, guys. I can hear you, ya know. I'm still in the future. I cast a spell.'_

'_Phyra! What the hell do you mean, you cast a spell? You don't have that kind of power. Did one of us help you…? I mean future us?' _Wyatt asked skeptically.

'_You know what, Wyatt? I'm a good witch. And I'm powerful, if you'd just give me a chance! I did this all by myself. I drew a triquetra on the attic floor, lit a candle at each corner, and then I grabbed the Book of Shadows, and channeled my powers through it, to magnify them. Then I used the spell I'd written, so that we could talk.' _ Phyra shot back angrily.

'_Okay, okay. Calm down, Phy. Listen, what was so important that you made a long distance call through time for?' _Chris, as usual, was the voice of reason.

'_Are you sitting down, Chris? This one's a doozy. Listen, to make a really really long and complicated story short, you have a son who's really pissed off at you. You did some really horrible stuff, and you deserve his anger. He has demonic powers, strong ones from Maya's demon part. He also has your time traveling powers. He's the one behind the assassins. You have to find him. You've got to make him understand that this Chris is sorry, and that if he goes back to the future, he'll learn that everything will be different, because YOU will be different. Save Reilly, Chris. You have to.'_

Chris was speechless at Phyra's impassioned plea.

'_Jesus H. Christ! Are you sure, Phy? _Wyatt asked, noting the paleness of his brother's face with a worried grimace.

'_Yeah, I'm sure. Peyton just got a new power. Premonitions- she saw Reilly there when we were discussing my blowing power.'_

'_Huh? Peyton has premonitions now? And why would Chris' son hate him enough to want to kill him?' _Wyatt questioned.

'_Wy, You can Chris blame Reilly for your daughter's death by a demon. Plus Chris was really hard on Reilly growing up, because his demonic powers were stronger than his white lighter ones. And judging from what Chris said now, he doesn't want to kill Chris. He wants to kill all of the rest of us, so Chris knows what it's like to be alone.'_

"_Dear God, What kind of father am I?"_ Chris worried both aloud and telepathically.

"The best kind." A young voice answered from the doorway.

Wyatt was the first one to find his voice, breaking free from the shock of the sight of the skinny little girl. _"Who are you?"_ He too, was both talking aloud and telepathically for Phyra's benefit.

The girl grinned, showing off a gap in the front of her teeth. "Why, Uncle Wyatt, I'm hurt!" She fake pouted. "You don't even recognize your favorite niece!"

"_N...Niece? But that m…makes you…"_ Chris' voice trailed off.

"You always were smart, Dad." The girl giggled at the look on his face. She scanned the room with her big green eyes. They widen at the sight of Piper and Leo. "GRAMMA, GRAMPY!" She whooped, and ran over to them, wrapping her arms around Piper's legs in a huge hug. "Wow! You guys look so young! You have hair Grampy!"

Leo laughed at the little brown hair ball of fire. Even if she hadn't admitted it, there was no way she belonged to anyone but Chris. "Hi honey." He gave her a warm hug, and knelt down to her level. "I'm sorry, but I don't know your name. We haven't met yet in this time."

The girl grinned, showing off the gapped tooth and huge dimples. "Yeah, I know. This is my first time travel. It's awesome, huh! I'm Raven. I'm seven years old."

"Well, Raven, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm glad to see you too, Grampy. I'm going to need all of your help. I have to find Reilly." She turned to Chris. "Have you seen him yet, Daddy?"

"_I…I didn't even know about him until a few seconds ago."_ Chris answered, still shell shocked at the sight of this baby that so obviously belonged to him.

Raven walked over to him, and patted his hand as if he were the child. "I know, Daddy. This must be a shock. But I need your help, okay? I wanna get Reilly back. He's my older brother. But in the future, I'm not allowed to see him anymore."

"_I…I know…Phyra, she just told us about him. If he's evil, Raven, then you need to trust your dad's judgment." _Chris said quietly.

"REILLY ISN'T EVIL, DAD!" Raven screamed. Instantly, the nearest window cracked and shattered. She glanced over at Piper and Leo. "Oops. Sorry." She took a deep breath. "Dad, he's not evil. Not really. You and Uncle Wyatt not believing in him turned him evil, just like when Uncle Wyatt got turned by Gideon when he was evil before. He just has demonic powers, but he's not a demon. You don't call Rena a demon, and she can shimmer, so don't call Reilly one just cuz his powers are demonic." At his look, she explained with a sigh. "Rena's my sister! Look, I came here, because I can help Reilly. I know I can. I'm gonna save him, just like you saved Uncle Wyatt."

Chris' face softened immediately. Suddenly, he realized that he was talking to a miniature version of himself. _"I believe you, Raven. Let's sit down, and figure out how we're going to help your brother, okay?"_

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(The Future)

"Holy Crap!" Phyra yelped, receiving Chris' last transmission.

"What? What's wrong?" Patience gasped.

"Did Reilly attack? Oh, God, please tell me they didn't hurt him!" Chris begged miserably.

"No, it's not Reilly. Chris, you better sit down. Reilly isn't your only child that went back to the past." Phyra whispered hesitantly.

"What? No, that's crazy. I wouldn't be able to sense any of them if they went to the past. I can sense all of them except for Reilly." Chris scoffed.

"I think you better try." Phyra urged.

Chris rolled his eyes at her insistence, but did as she asked. Eyes still closed, he spoke. "See, I told you, all of them are here." He stopped and got a strange look on his face. Suddenly, his face wrinkled with concentration. He opened his eyes, paler now than he had been before. "Raven…I can't sense Raven."

Phyra nodded.

"No, you're wrong. She's only seven years old! She doesn't even know how to time travel!" Chris protested.

"Well, let me find out how she got there. Relax, for now, she's okay. She's with Chris and our parents. They'll keep her safe. And the assassins won't bother her, because Reilly won't hurt her either."

Chris didn't answer, just closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

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_(The Present)_

"_Find out how she got there. Chris says she doesn't have that power."_

"_Raven, honey, how did you get here anyway? Do you have time travel powers, like me?"_ Chris asked his daughter.

"I can't answer that Daddy."

"_Why not?"_

"Future Consequences, silly!" Piper, Leo, Paige & Phoebe all dissolved in laughter at the familiar phrase that the other Chris had taunted them all with being turned around against him. Leo was the only one that attempted to turn his laugh into a cough at Chris' dirty look.

"_Listen, Baby, I need to know. It's not just curiosity. I need to make sure that a demon didn't bring you here so that he could hurt you. You need to tell me, and then we'll worry about future consequences later." _Chris unconsciously slipped into a soothing tone.

"Daddy, I told you, I'm not a baby anymore! Stop calling me that!" Raven huffed.

"_I'm sorry. I won't call you baby again. I didn't know. You're stalling though… how did you get here?"_

Raven looked down at the floor and shuffled her feet and mumbled something under her breath.

"_What?"_ Chris asked patiently.

"I said, Kylie helped me."

"_Who's Kylie? Is she a friend of yours?"_ Wyatt asked.

Raven looked at him as if he was stupid. "Duh, Uncle Wyatt. Kylie's my cousin…you know, your daughter?"

"_So, your cousin has time travel powers?"_ Chris asked, trying to sort things out.

"No, she just said the spell. It took a spell and one of Auntie Phyra's potions to get here!" Raven said proudly.

"_Auntie Phyra?"_

"Yeah, I mean, she's not really our aunt, but it sounds better than Cousin Phyra. You said we can't call her Phyra, cuz its dis'spectful." Raven looked up at her father with wide green eyes.

"_So, Auntie Phyra gave you a potion that she made so that your cousin's spell would be more powerful?"_ Chris reasoned.

"Uh huh. It was made with BNA to bind us."

"_BNA?"_ Chris asked, confused now.

"Yeah, two drops of my blood, and a piece of your hair! That way, I'd automatically find you, and not anyone else."

"_Oh, you mean, DNA! But that was very dangerous, Raven. You could have found me at any time period, it was just luck that you came here to me in this time."_

"No, it wasn't. That's why I had Kylie write the spell. She's awesome at it. She's a poetry major at school, and she is great a rhyming and making spells work perfect. She spe…speci…said really good the words 'to the time that Reilly trekked.' So that way, with the potion, I'd come right to you, but it'd be in the time that Reilly was in!"

Chris looked at Wyatt_. "Damn, we got smart kids, bro!" _Wyatt just nodded, impressed.

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(The Future)

Phyra looked at Chris' haggard face, wondering how her cousin had been reduced to this shell of his former self.

"She took a potion that future me made for her. Then her cousin Kylie used a special spell to send her to the time that Reilly is in. She went back to the past to save him."

Chris closed his eyes, tightly, feeling the pressure behind his eyes start to build. "She has no idea how dangerous this is. But DAMN IT ALL, Phyra and Kylie do." He stood quickly and yelled "PHYRA, KYLIE! GET UP HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Phyra sucked in her breath as two figures orbed into the attic. "Don't you EVER yell at me like that again, Chris! Next time you try, I swear, I'll TK your Thrice-Blessed ass all the way to the moon and back!"

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**A/N: This is most likely the last chapter until at least Tuesday 12/27. I will try, but realistically, that will be the earliest another chapter will be up. Either way, Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!**


	10. The Truth About Demons

**A/N: Well, ask and you shall receive. There have been requests for a more in depth glimpse of why Chris is so easily believing that Reilly is evil. This chapter should help to explain that. **

**I apologize for not responding to any of the reviews of the last chapter. I've just been swamped with stuff, and thought I should concentrate on writing the next chapter.**

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(The Future)

"How dare you yell at me like that, Chris? Guess what, I'm not one of your children!" An adult and purely pissed off Phyra asked in a growl.

"How dare? You sent my seven year old daughter through time!" Chris yelled.

Phyra allowed a small smile. "Raven wanted to go, Chris. If I hadn't helped her, she would have used one of _your_ spells in the book. Then she would have ended up in the Dark Ages or something. With my potion, it bound her to you, so that no matter what else happened, she would have dropped right into a time line where you were."

"You dropped her into the middle of a death trap! Konix is bad enough, but with Reilly there too…"

"She'll be perfectly safe. Reilly would never hurt Raven! I've been telling you that for years! He is a good kid, he's just pissed off because his father doesn't trust him, and he thinks you don't love him!"

"This is none of your business, Phy!" Chris ground out through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I think it is! Chris, your son is doing evil things and all because he knows that's exactly what you expect of him! Can't you just swallow your pride, and go to him? Admit you were wrong? You can fix this, Chris, if you wanted to!"

"IF I WANTED TO? Who the HELL do you think you are, Phy? Of course, I want to! I want my son back! I want him to be good again! Do you really think that I like the fact that there's a vanquishing potion in the cupboard for MY SON?" Chris' voice was raw with pain and anger.

"I know you don't want him dead, Chris! But REILLY doesn't know that! You've threatened to bind his powers, made him an outcast in his own family, and then to top it all off, you've removed the one good piece of his life at the moment- Raven- and left him completely alone to the lure of evil." She took a step forward towards him. "You want to know why Kylie and I sent Raven to the past? Because we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that your past self would fix this. He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder. He's not so afraid of losing his family that he pushes them aside. It was an accident, Chris. What happened to Keira, was an accident, just a horrible accident."

"I know that." Chris answered softly.

"Logically you do, anyway. But every time you think about Maya, you can't quite be sure, can you? Once a demon, always a demon?"

"She was my wife. It wasn't her fault."

"She was a deceitful bitch who lured us all into thinking she was this perfect picture of innocence and light. All the while, she was plotting behind our backs, and using us all. She gave a child, hoping that it would have powers that she could groom into her heir. Reilly was that child. It wasn't his fault that God gave him demonic powers, Chris. It also isn't his fault that Maya trained him to use them."

"I should have seen it, Phy. I should have known."

"How Chris? How were you supposed to see it? She never used her demonic powers except for shimmering. She never ever let on that she knew any demons. And she certainly never mentioned that her supposedly 'dead' father was the Source! None of us knew the truth, and none of us suspected her of being anything more than a loving wife and mother."

Phyra hugged her stoic cousin quickly. "But Chris, Reilly wasn't to blame for his mother's actions. He is good, no matter what his actions recently have shown."

Chris sighed. "He was good, Phy. When I accused him, and told him I'd bind his powers, he was good. But now? Now, I just… he's done so many things that can swing either way. I just don't what to do anymore." Chris rubbed his temples wearily.

"You're only a true demon if you kill an innocent. That's what you and Wyatt told me after I hurt that jerk when I had Cole's powers. As long as Reilly hasn't killed an innocent, he'll be okay. You can still get him back." Younger Phyra spoke for the first time. She was still shocked to see herself as an adult, but more than that, the realization that her new cousin was a real demon stunned her.

Both Chris and adult Phyra whipped around to face her. "Phy, sweetheart…" Chris started.

"Stop! I'm not a baby, Chris. I want to help. Has Reilly killed any innocents?" she insisted.

"No, not that I know of." Chris finally answered, his gaze flipped between the two versions of his cousin.

"So he can still be saved."

"If he wants to be, that is."

"Shut UP Chris! You know that's not true. You can so save someone without them wanting it. You saved Wyatt before, and he sure didn't want to be saved. He was really happy, just chillin' as the ruler of all evil." Peyton broke in, defending her little sister.

A warm rich chuckle filled the attic. "They've got you outnumbered, huh, Chris?" Wyatt asked lazily from his perch in the attic doorway.

"Wyatt! What are you doing here? Everyone okay?"

"I'm here because my daughter orbed into the restaurant, telling me she was afraid Uncle Chris was going to explode her into a million pieces."

Phyra snorted. "As if… what a little chicken. She just didn't want to hear him yell."

"Yeah, that's basically it. " Wyatt confirmed. "Besides, I figured I should probably own up to the fact that I planted the idea in Raven's mind."

"WHAT! WYATT…" Chris bellowed, then abruptly stopped, desperately trying to get his emotions under control.

"She wanted to help, Chris. She's the only one that can now. Reilly knows that she is no threat to him, that she is the one person who loves and believes him without prejudice. He thinks that you and I and Phy are just out to find him so that we can bind his powers. His other brothers and sisters and cousins are too old, and he thinks they'll be just working for us. Plus, Raven is the only person that Reilly trusts unconditionally. She's heard all the stories of how you saved me from evil. She wants to do the same for him."

"Big difference there, Wy! I was twenty three when I went back to save you! She's only seven!"

"She'll be okay, Chris. Reilly won't hurt her. Plus, me and you will protect her in the past. You know she has a bigger blabber mouth than Aunt Phoebe. She'll tell them all within a few minutes of meeting them. They won't let her get hurt."

"Maya is alive in that time, Wy." Chris' voice was quiet. "We haven't vanquished her yet."

"She won't hurt her own daughter, Chris."

"Why not? She had Keira killed, knowing that Reilly would be blamed for it. She tried to kill Abby. And she stabbed Phiona with that poisoned athame when Phi was only six! I can't believe we forgave her, and believed her when she said that a demon had shape shifted into her and done it! Why wouldn't she hurt or even kill Raven. Or Reilly either for that matter? What better way to make us all even more indebted to her, than to kill the evil behind the attack?" Chris pushed to his feet.

Patience gasped. "Maya? Maya's evil? I mean, she has demon in her, but she's good."

Wyatt looked over to his younger cousins. "No, she's not good. She had us all fooled, but she is actually one of the most evil creatures we've ever faced." His face shadowed. "I just wish we'd found out earlier."

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(The Present)

Chris looked at Piper helplessly. "Mom, can you get us some cookies? This calls for cookies."

"Sure, honey. What kind is your favorite, Raven?"

"Chocolate Peanut Butter, just like Daddy! Can I have some milk, too, Grammy? I'm thirsty."

"Of course you can. I'll get it for you, sweetheart." Maya answered.

Raven's eyes got big, and she immediately hid behind Chris and Wyatt's legs. "Daddy!"

"Hey, hey…what's wrong? It's okay." Chris soothed, not seeing what was wrong.

Raven didn't answer, not taking her eyes off Maya. Wyatt knelt down, hugging his brother's baby. "Raven, what's wrong? You can tell us. We'll keep you safe. Are you surprised to see your mommy?"

"She's not my mommy!" Raven yelled, startling Wyatt.

"She's not?" Chris asked, stunned at the thought of having children with anyone but Maya.

"She's nothing but a demon. She deserves everything she gets." She turned her gaze to Maya. "EXCALIBUR!" she yelled, feeling the cold hard slide of the sword hit her palm. She threw it telekinetically, hurling it directly at Maya's throat. With a quick motion of her hand, she froze the sword with the point touching Maya's skin without breaking it, keeping her trapped between the wall and the sword. "You don't deserve to die that easy. Daddy, make her stay away. She's bad. She's evil, and working for the Source."

Chris gaped, staring at the magical sword still hovering at his wife's throat. "Raven…you're wrong. I don't know what happens in the future, but Maya would never work for the Source. She's part demon, which is probably what you're sensing, but she only uses her powers for good, never evil."

Raven laid a palm on her father's cheek. "Daddy, please, you have to believe me. I'm not sensing anything. I know that she's evil, because of the future. Right after she has him, she starts getting sloppy. She starts grooming Reilly as soon as he's born. She only wants you so that she can have powerful children. As soon as she gets one that has strong demon ties, she starts to groom him to be a demon. It's not Reilly's fault that he can't use his white lighter powers. She suppresses them with a potion. Please, daddy, please believe me."

"Will someone please get this fucking sword away from my throat!" Maya screeched angrily.

"I can put it through your throat if you want." Raven said sweetly, her eyes still cold and harsh.

"Raven!" Chris admonished. "Look, honey, I believe you, I do. I have no doubt you're telling the truth, but you probably don't know the entire story. Most likely, your mom was possessed or a demon had turned her morality. Your mom is good, honey, I know that."

"SHE'S NOT MY MOMMY!" Raven screamed, her emotions again shattering the nearest vases sitting on the coffee table. She closed her eyes to calm her emotions in a classic Chris way that had Wyatt smiling despite the obvious tensions. "My mom is Julia. Julia Erin Lennox-Halliwell. She's Auntie Abby's sister. She's NOT evil!"

"Julia? Julia is your mom?" Wyatt asked, astonished. He'd only met Abby's sister a couple of times, and as far as he knew, Chris never had.

"Uh huh. They met at Magic School. Daddy was teaching a class for Grampy, and Mommy was working in the library. They met and fell in love." Raven said shyly.

"Chris, move this sword, right now! How do you know she's not the one that's a demon? Move this thing, I'm your wife, Chris! Move it, NOW!" Maya screeched again, angrier.

"Daddy can't move it. Excalibur won't listen to him." Raven said calmly.

"Oh right. Like it listens to you? Please, Wyatt is the master of Excalibur. Everyone knows that." Maya sneered derisively.

"Uncle Wyatt is the master of Excalibur in his generation. But now that I'm around, it's mine. Uncle Wyatt is teaching me how to use it." Raven answered. She snapped her fingers, and the sword slowly turned. "Wanna see how my TK works with it?"

Maya gulped, feeling the sweat run down her spine. How the hell did this little brat know her plans? She'd hidden them so carefully for almost a decade. Under no circumstances would she let this little germ destroy her carefully laid plans.

"Whoa…Did anyone else feel that?" Wyatt asked quickly. "Hatred, pure demonic hatred."

"Oh my God, Chris, the assassins. It must be the assassins are here. Hurry, my God. Wyatt, move this sword. We can't let any of them break us apart." Maya gasped, quickly hiding her emotions from her powerful brother in law.

"No, Maya. I don't think I will move the sword. Those emotions just got blocked. Demons don't generally do that unless they're under cover as humans. I only see one person that could have come from." Wyatt answered slowly. "Why have you lied to us?"

"I…I haven't lied. I'm not lying to you Wyatt! I love Chris! I do, honestly. Why do you believe her over me?" Maya managed to squeeze out a few tears.

"Probably because deep down they never trusted you, any more than they've ever trusted me." A hard voice answered as he stepped out of his shimmering circle to stand tall in front of the parents he hated.

"REILLY!" Raven shrieked happily.


	11. The Plan Goes Awry

**A/N: Thanks for being so patient! I hurt my wrist & tore a tendon in my thumb last week, and was banned from using my left hand for an entire month, so I apologize about the lack of updates. But the good news is, I can still hand-write whatever I want, so the next few chapters should come fairly quickly, as I already have them done, they just need to be typed up. I'll try to type some of them up one handed, but they'll be few & far between until I can use both hands again. If anyone is interested in ghost-typing, let me know by reviewing.**

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"Raven, Wait!" Wyatt called out, stopping her from running to Reilly.

Reilly's face hardened. "Yeah, Rave, heaven forbid you consort with a demon.

Chris ignored Maya's pleas to be released from behind Excalibur. "You must be Reilly." He took a deep breath and turned to Wyatt. "Let her go, Wy. He's her brother, he won't hurt her."

"Chris, you don't know that! For all you know, he'll kill her the first chance he gets."

"Uncle Wyatt, you take that back right now! Reilly is _good_, honest. LET ME GO!" Raven insisted angrily, pushing at his hands. Wyatt tightened his grip, trying to hold her back. "OW!" she protested as his hands squeezed inadvertently into her arms.

"Take your hands off my sister!" Reilly growled at Wyatt.

"No, not until I know you won't hurt her." Wyatt continued.

Reilly's face darkened, and his eyes began to glow bright neon blue. "One last time- Let Her GO!" Wyatt refused again with a silent shake of his head.

"So be it." Reilly raised a hand, palm up.

"No, Reilly, stop! No!" Raven yelled. Quickly using the self defense skills her cousins had taught her, she elbowed Wyatt hard in the side, then turned, and flicked a finger off the side of her nose. Wyatt flew across the room, landing on the floor in front of Abby & Piper. Raven looked at him regretfully. "Sorry, Uncle Wyatt." She turned and orbed in front of Reilly.

"Rave- what are you doing here? You've got to leave, right now!" Reilly hissed, turning his sister to face him.

"Gee, genius, what's it look like I'm doing? I'm saving you. You aren't evil, not really. It was all her. She trained you to only use the evil powers, and gave you that potion to suppress the white lighter powers. It's not your fault that she freaked out when you got them anyway. She made everyone think that everything she had done was really done by you. Even Keira…" her voice trailed off. "But she won't get that chance this time, Rei. I told daddy about her already. So now he knows she's evil now, really evil. He won't let her hurt you this time"

Reilly snorted derisively at his little sister's speech. "Raven, you can't do this. It's too dangerous! I know you know about future consequences. This, you being here, could change things forever. You can't play with magic, Raven. Especially, with time travel! Just because we can do it, doesn't mean we should!"

"You did it." Raven said stubbornly.

"I had to. It's part of my destiny. Why else would I get Da…Chris' stupid power?"

"Because the Powers that Be recognized my mistakes, Reilly. Because they knew that I'd treated you far to shabbily- that I didn't trust you, as I should have. And because they wanted to give us a second chance." Chris stepped forward.

"Get the HELL away from me!" Reilly yelled.

"Reilly, listen to me. We have another chance now. Please…"

"I'm through listening to you, Chris."

"Look, I know what it's like to have a dad who doesn't care. You can never do enough right. I do understand- I lived it once myself."

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard all the old shit, Chris. Grampa Leo was so horrible, but when you saved Uncle Wyatt, you saved your relationship with Leo too." Reilly grimaced. "Spare me the lecture again. This isn't remotely the same thing. Grampa Leo ignored you because he had a higher purpose. At least he was an elder. You couldn't do me the favor of ignoring me. Don't even start with this, I mean, let's face it, you aren't Leo, and as you've told me a hundred times, I could never be like you."

"Reilly, stop, please!" Raven cried out, holding her stomach where a small spot of blood appeared.

"Raven! What's wrong?" Reilly cried out, whirling to find the demon that had hurt her. He didn't see anyone but the family he had expected. He growled, eyes glowing as he pulled a jeweled athame from out of the air, and held it to Chris' throat menacingly. "Whichever one of you did this better speak up and fix it, NOW! Or else, my athame slices him ear to ear."

"No!" Raven gasped as the blood spot got larger. "Rei…it's not…them. It's…you. I got…new power. I'm a ph…physical empath. Your pain…tearing you apart…in…side. So, your pain…tearing me apart physically."

Reilly made the athame vanish as he fell to his knees in front of his baby sister. "What? No!" He raised his hands to her stomach, trying desperately to heal her, concentrating on the lessons his father had given him over the years. He sobbed in frustration as no healing glow was produced. "NO!" he screamed, sending his fist slamming through the floor in agonized frustration. He took a deep breath and looked at Chris with troubled green eyes. "Heal her. Please" he added in a harsh whisper.

"I can't, Reilly."

"This is the first time I've asked you for anything in six years, Chris. Please, please heal her. Please!" At Chris' tortured shake of his head, Reilly turned to his uncle. "Uncle Wyatt, please. I'm sorry, please heal her. I know you can. If anyone can, you guys can, please…please…I'm sorry sorry…Keira…I never meant…Please" Reilly's eyes were full with unshed tears.

"Reilly, It's not that we don't want to…we just…can't." Wyatt answered softly.

"When a physical empathy feels pain so deeply, there is no way a white lighter can her them. The only way to heal her is to heal you. If your pain gets lightened, then so will her physical symptoms." Chris explained, his voice hoarse as he felt the deep pain that both of his children were experiencing.

"Talk to… him…Rei. Be a…son again." Raven gasped breathlessly, holding her side.

"No! No, son there is another way!" Maya spoke for the first time, addressing her son.

"Shut Up, Maya." Chris ordered harshly.

"What will you do, Chris, kill me? I think not. Without me, you'll never get the son you're so valiantly trying to save." Maya snapped. "Reilly- all you have do is call upon your latent evil. Allow yourself to fully embrace it, and become wholly demonic, and all your pain will disappear."

"No, Reilly! If you allow yourself to fully accept your demon side, then you'll lose touch with your human emotions. You'll kill her anyway, just because she's a Halliwell; not to mention a good witch." Chris argued, his voice impassioned.

"Why should I believe either one of you? One of you has blatantly groomed me to be something that will destroy me in the end, not to mention turn my family against me, And the other has shown me nothing but fear, distrust and hatred. You are both liars of the first order. Tell me why I should believe either one of you?" Reilly demanded angrily.

"Because deep down, you know I'm right, Reilly. Raven came here to keep you from fully turning evil. She believes you are latently good, not evil. I agree. Everything I have seen comes from hurt, rejection, pain, loss and neglect. None of it comes from true evil." Chris took a small step forward. Reilly instinctively stepped back. Chris stopped immediately. "I don't know if I've ever said this to you or not. If not, I'm sorrier than I could ever, will ever be. You are not evil. You may have demonic powers, but you are not a demon. You are my son, and you are good."

Reilly swallowed hard. "H…how can I believe you? Are you just doing this to save Raven?"

"Reilly, Maya is telling the truth. If you go fully demonic it will heal Raven completely. But you, the part of you that she so obviously loves, will be gone. I won't risk you for the sake of her. I'm also not willing to risk her for you. I'm saving you both." Chris looked down into the eyes that matched his own, and silently cursed himself for the pain he saw reflected back at him.

"I'll try Chris. But, know this much. If this doesn't work, then I will call on this latent demon thing. I will save her. I will save Raven, no matter what. It doesn't matter what I have to do to make it happen."

"Fine, as long as you understand that we vanquish demons that threaten us. Even ones that are family. We might not like it, but we do it." Wyatt added solemnly, still sitting on the floor.

"Yeah, and they don't spare any firepower, either." Cole added dryly.

"Cole!" Reilly brightened visibly. "I forgot you were here at this year!"

"I'm here. I assume that I'm around in your time? That Phoebe and I are together. Do we…get along?" Cole asked hesitantly.

"Get along? Yeah, you're the only one who still speaks to me. You taught me how to use the time travel power."

"So…I'm the reason you're here?"

"kinda, well, not really. I mean, it was my idea. You even tried to talk me out of it. But in the end, yeah, you helped me to mingle the shimmering power and the time travel power to get here."

"Shouldn't I have gone with you and made sure you were safe? I mean, no offense, but you're just a kid, Halliwell or not." Cole questioned his own motives.

"I left before you got a chance to. I didn't want you to know, because you wouldn't have let me come at all after you figured it out."

"Huh? I thought you said I agreed."

"You agreed to me coming back to try and save da…Chris and my relationship. But, well, that wasn't really my plan."

"So, what was?"

"I hired Konix and her assassins. I gave them each a target. But they'll only succeed with one. Everyone else is safe because they're in love."

"Wait, I don't get it. Who is supposed to die then?"

"She will- the only one who can't truly love." Reilly answered simply, pointing at Maya.

Cole sucked in a breath sharply. "But that means…"

"Yeah, if she dies, I do too."


	12. Saving Raven

A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! Sorry, but I won't be answering anyone's reviews until my hand is better. I apologize, but typing is just too difficult right now. Again, I apologize for the delay in updating. Stick with me!

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"WHAT?" Cole exploded angrily. "Absolutely not, kid. You are not committing suicide, not as long as I have anything to say about it! I forbid it."

Reilly laughed humorlessly. "You forbid it, Uncle Cole? You don't get a say."

"Wanna bet? Go ahead, kid, try me." Cole threatened menacingly.

"Try you? Pfft…shoot, its not like that's any kind of challenge anyway." Reilly added snottily.

"Cole, quit harassing my son. Reilly, quit threatening Cole. You aren't going to do anything. Remember, we have to save Raven, right? So, I guess you and I need to go somewhere and talk." Chris broke in, recognizing the restless look on Cole's face.

"Hell no! I'm not leaving Raven here with them. We can just do this here or not at all." Reilly insisted stubbornly, voice full of distrust. "And don't call me your son. That's a pretty big swap you've made from the last time we chatted. Because then, you said I was a threat. You said I was going to kill my sister. You said I would harm her so irreparably that she would cease to exist. You said demons can't feel, so I wouldn't even care." Reilly burst out angrily.

"Reilly, I can't explain why I said those things. For me, they haven't happened yet. But I can tell you this much. The only other demon I've ever seen possess a soul and be capable of true human emotions is Cole. Even though he possesses demonic powers, he now only uses them for good. He loves passionately, regrets deeply, and cares completely. I see those same things when I look in your eyes. If you were truly demonic, then you wouldn't be willing to try and save Raven. You'd simply mark her loss down as collateral damage."

"Besides, if you were a true, full-blooded demon, with pure evil in your veins, you would be in a killing rage against both Chris and Wyatt. But you're not. You feel anger, but stronger are the feelings of deep-seated betrayal, loss, and fear. Those aren't the emotions of a demon hell-bent on revenge. It's the emotional state of a lost child, of a little boy trying desperately to be a man, a little boy who's been ignored, neglected and abused." Phoebe spoke quietly, reading Reilly's emotions.

"I wasn't abused. D…Chris…None of you ever did that."

"Reilly, I think you know that there's more than one kind of abuse. No one may have hurt you physically, but the fact that you can't even call Chris dad hints to the fact that at best you were hurt emotionally, and that at worst you were abandoned completely."

"They didn't hurt me, they just didn't ever trust me. It was like my demon blood made me tainted. Especially when I couldn't orb, but I could shimmer. I couldn't do energy balls, but I could do fire balls. I didn't know that mom…Maya was blocking all my good powers with a potion though."

"But why didn't your dad or anyone else try to figure out why your powers weren't coming?" Piper broke in softly, her heart breaking at the sight of her future grandchildren in such obvious pain.

"They just…didn't. They used to joke about me being demon spawn, but I never thought they were serious. Not until I cast a truth spell one day. Then I heard Uncle Wyatt and Aunt Abby say that I was demon spawn, and that they thought my mom and I would kill them all." Reilly's voice was rough.

"Ah…Truth spells always backfire that way. But what did your dad say about it?" Piper sympathized.

Reilly looked at Chris, his gaze filled with pain. "I never told him. I didn't want to hear him say it was true too."

"Reilly, I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that or what happened to make us think it. But I am sorry. I would never hurt my family. I promise you, this time it will be different. I will fight for you, I swear it." Wyatt apologized, finally letting his guard down long enough to let his empathic powers feel the waves of pain and hurt emanating from Reilly.

Reilly just nodded silently, not really trusting Wyatt, but not wanting to create more tension.

"Reilly, what led up to this? I mean, was there one time, or a specific demon that just changed the way we felt about you?" Chris couldn't believe he'd ever treat his own child so shabbily.

Reilly sighed heavily, sitting down hard on the couch, his eyes not leaving his little sister. "My mom…Maya…She finally made her move." Reilly just pointed in Maya's direction. "I was eight, and she'd made me learn all these demonic powers that I have. We practiced for seven hours a day while you were all working."

"But what about school?" Chris broke in.

"All the kids are home-schooled. It's easier with the demon attacks." Reilly sighed again, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Anyway, she kept giving me a potion all the time, every morning. She said it was supposed to make my powers come faster. It actually was suppressing all of my witch and white lighter powers, making me appear to have demonic powers only. One day, I only pretended to take the potion. I wanted to play with Kylie and Keira, and I was hoping that I could convince her to let me go. She refused, telling me that I had to practice, because of a rising evil. I remember being mad, and wishing I could just be like all the other kids, and not need to constantly study to use my powers." He glanced over at Chris. "I didn't know how to orb. I'd never done it before. But suddenly, I felt this weird tingling and saw a ton of bright white lights and then I was in the part with Kylie, Keira and Un…Wyatt."

"Reilly, it's okay if you call me Uncle Wyatt. "

Reilly shrugged off Wyatt's comment uncomfortably. "They were all excited for me, although Wyatt did tell me to try not to orb in public. Mom, well, Maya, she went ballistic when she saw me orb. She thought the potion had failed and that my white lighter powers were starting to over power the demonic ones. She thought that it meant that my demonic powers were really weaker than my witch and white lighter powers. She made her move, and called to her father, and they executed the attack they'd been planning."

"Her father? But, Reilly, her dad is dead. He has been for years." Chris broke in confusedly.

"Her dad is alive and well. You've all been fighting him for years- pretty much since you vanquished Zankou, really."

"But…The only demon we've fought for that long is…"

"The Source." Reilly spoke in unison with his father.

Chris sputtered for a second. "B…but that means…my wife is the daughter of the Source."

"Yep. And when you guys find out, you blame me." Reilly said with a touch of anger.

"Why? You didn't choose who your mom is. I did that!" Chris protested.

"Yeah, but…damn it… I can't tell you all of this. Future consequences. But let's just say that in the attack, someone in this room doesn't make it. A fireball…kills this person. That's my strongest demonic power. You'd figured out already that Maya had betrayed you. What you didn't know was that they'd used a wizard to make you all think that I was the one that killed…her." Reilly refused to look at anyone, keeping his eyes firmly on Raven.

"There was never any proof, so you couldn't vanquish me. But you never believed me either when I told you that I'd orbed by accident, and that I knew nothing about Maya's attack. You all thought I was working with her. You didn't trust me at all. The only ones who believed me were Kylie and Keira-and then later on Raven. And then a few years later, Keira died. I got blamed for that too. Wyatt has a power that lets him touch a scorch mark, and know automatically who threw it. I'd tried to save her, and had thrown a fireball at the demon holding her, but when it hit him, it also left a mark on her cheek. He knew it as mine, and you thought I'd killed her. It was my fault you blamed me. After I'd realized how little you all trusted me, I did everything I could to get in trouble. I started fights at Magic School. I used my powers for personal gain all the time." He laughed humorlessly." Once I even tried to say a spell that would make you and Uncle Wyatt walk in my shoes for a week. I forgot to mention in the spell that I didn't mean it literally. That didn't go over well. Anyway, after Keira, you said that you were going to bind my powers completely so that I could never be a threat again. I ran away and left that night."

Reilly looked up at Chris, his eyes stormy with pent up emotion. "I tried to hate you. I did, I wanted to, but all I could think was that maybe you were right. Keira was dead, and no matter how it happened, I was older, I had more powers. I should have protected her. You came to me a few days later, you'd sensed for me. By then you'd cooled off, and said you were wrong. But…you weren't. You'd been right all the time. I'm a demon. I told you to leave me the hell alone. You wouldn't leave me, so I…hit you with my fireball, and then went to the Underworld. I bought a potion to block all of your sensing. I just forgot about Raven. She could still sense me."

Reilly took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. "She'd come and visit me when I was above ground. I wasn't a blooded demon. I never killed an innocent. She was safe with me. I would have killed anyone who'd ever tried to hurt her. But one day, you showed up when she was with me. I was dressed like I am now. I looked like a demon. And I was pissed at you. I hated you by then. I just…knew what you'd do. And I was right, you took her away. She was all I had left, and you took her away, and I didn't ever see her again until today."

"I had nothing left. No one. I didn't want to be like my mom. I don't want to be the next Source. I could be. I have the powers. If I wanted to, I could level this room, no matter how many of you there are. The Power of Three can't control me, neither can the Twice Blessed Witch or the Elementals. And since the Thrice Blessed Witch has the same powers as me, you can't use them against me, so you're also powerless." Reilly snorted at the words. "But even knowing that, even knowing that I could run the entire magical world, I don't want it. No matter what any of you think, I have never killed an innocent. The closest I've ever come is I killed a mortal once when I caught him raping a little girl. But I don't call him an innocent, just a mortal."

"Neither do I. Good for you." Wyatt answered firmly.

"Absolutely. That wasn't demonic, that was heroic." Chris agreed.

Reilly didn't answer, just looked at Wyatt, and then swung his gaze slowly to Chris. "I don't get it. I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"What happened to you guys? You're not the same. In my time, you're different. Harder and colder. You wouldn't have understood this, you only see black or white- never gray. I don't get it. What changed you?" Reilly questioned blankly.

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_(The Future)_

"Reilly wants to know what changed you guys. I think he kinda likes my Chris and my Wyatt." Phyra stated coldly. Chris had left his connection open with her, and she had heard all of what was happening in the past.

"Look, Phyra, you won't understand, okay? And we can't tell you because of future consequences." Chris said with a heavy sigh.

"I'm not an idiot, Chris. And guess what, neither is Reilly. You need to tell me right now what your beef is with him. Cause guess what? It's not just Reilly that's hurting right now." Phyra exclaimed hotly. She was firmly on Reilly's side after hearing the conversations.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, God…not Raven…" Adult Phyra gasped.

Phyra nodded solemnly. "Damn it all! I knew something like this would happen. I told you Chris! I told you that you needed to figure out how to fix this thing between you and Reilly. I knew that it would eventually tear this family apart! Why can't you ever listen to me?" Adult Phyra whirled on her cousin, fury lining her face.

"What the hell are you talking about? What's wrong with Raven?" Chris asked nervously.

"Raven? It's only Raven you're worried about? Well, think again Chris. You have two kids both stuck in the past right now. And guess what-BOTH of them are hurting. Both of them are about to die." Phyra yelled angrily.

"WHAT?" Wyatt roared the question, his teasing tone gone.

"Yeah, you heard me. Raven's a physical empath. She literally feels other's pain, and it tears her apart if they are powerful enough. Reilly's pain is powerful enough, and the force of his misery has her bleeding profusely. And Reilly…well, he's decided the only way to solve this feud between you and him is to kill Maya. And in case you haven't figured it out, that means he kills himself in the process."

Chris' face bleached of all color, and he grabbed Wyatt's arm with a quick nod to Adult Phyra. "Watch the girls. We'll be back." The room filled with gold and silver orbs.

"Whoa! Cool orbs! How'd they do that?" Peyton asked.

"Those were time travel orbs. I have a feeling the past is about to get crowded."


	13. Why?

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate it so much! Again, I just want to apologize for the updating delays. Being injured totally stinks. Thanks for sticking with me.

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(The Future)

"What do you mean time travel orbs? There are no such thing as time travel orbs!" Peyton screeched at her future sister.

"Not where you come from Peyton. But the Halliwell magic is always evolving. With that evolution comes power augmentations. Chris' ability to time travel orb is one of them."

"So how do we get to them? We can't just let them sit there, and have your Chris and Wyatt go to Reilly. He's gonna totally freak! He's barely accepting our Chris and Wyatt! We've got to go and help."

"You girls cannot leave this time. If you do, you are susceptible to Konix and her assassins."

"Screw the assassins. We'll deal with them when we have to. C'mon, Phy…Family first, you know that!" Patience pled with her future cousin.

"Look, guys, I don't even have a time travel power. I can't just grow a power, you know."

"No, but we all have enough powers and we're linked to Chris and Wyatt. If we concentrate enough on getting our orbs to where they are, we should be able to reach them. It's worth a shot, isn't it?" Phyra reasoned with her future self.

"My cousins are going to kill me for this. Ok, we'll go. But before we can, we have to figure out a way to get you three protected from Konix's assassins. It would be just perfect if they got to you guys. I'd really be dead then…literally."

"If Reilly is the one that hired them, maybe he didn't bother sending one after the three of us, since he already knew what happened when Konix's assassins struck before." Peyton input, impatient to return to the past.

"We can't depend on that. Listen, let's just go and see mom and the aunts. Maybe we can come up with some kind of spell that will protect you guys." Phyra grabbed her younger self's hand along with Peyton and Patience and orbed out of the attic.

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_(The Present_)

Reilly whirled at the sound of the all too familiar orbs. He gasped in shock as he was shoved in back of both Chris and Wyatt.

Future Wyatt and Future Chris stepped forward as their orbs started to diminish. "Reilly! What in the HELL do you think you're doing? Are you ever going to be satisfied? Huh?" Future Chris stepped forward to reach between Chris and Wyatt, trying to grab Reilly's arm.

"Don't touch him. As a matter of fact, don't even talk to him. You're the ones that have done enough!" Chris roared, incensed on his future son's behalf.

"Look, Chris, I don't have time to do this with you. I have to save my daughter. Raven doesn't deserve this!"

"RAVEN? Raven doesn't deserve this? What the HELL do you mean by that?" Wyatt yelled this time.

"Back off. You have no idea what kind of trouble he's caused Wyatt. He killed an innocent. He got Keira killed, even though, I admit, he didn't do it himself. It's still his fault. Maya is the one that hired the demon. And Reilly led her there. Not to mention that above all else, he got Phiona killed. And you have the balls to stand there and try to help him over baby who's never hurt anyone in her life? Get the hell out of our way. Now." Future Wyatt roared back. His voice was full of pain, regret and hurt.

"An innocent? An innocent in my book is not a rapist. He's a piece of scum that deserved to be killed. When this happens in my future, I'm going to buy him a present. He rid the world of evil. As far as Keira goes, he told us that she wanted to go there. I believe him. I don't think for a second that he would knowingly sacrifice any member of this family." Wyatt gritted out, blocking his future self's path.

"Stop…Fighting!" Raven gasped out. "Reilly…not…evil."

"Jesus Christ, Chris, Wyatt… just listen to him. He's not evil. You've seen evil in so many forms, have you truly become blind to good?" Cole broke in, trying to break the tension.

Future Wyatt snorted. "That's rich, coming from you."

Phoebe gasped audibly. "WYATT MATTHEW HALLIWELL! Do not for one second think that I won't bind your powers if you cross me right now. You will show Cole the proper respect he deserves, and you will do it now! Furthermore, I don't know what has happened in the future to turn my two loving caring nephews into the heartless bastards standing in front of me, but I don't like it. If there is anyone to blame for Reilly's actions, then you had both better start looking into a mirror." Phoebe's voice was cold and hard, laced with a steel that Paige and Piper could only remember having been used after Cole and Phoebe's divorce.

"Aunt Phoebe, stay out of this." Future Chris snapped.

Chris lost his temper. "First, you'd better start using a little bit of respect in your tone when you talk to our aunts. Second, _my_ son is not evil. His mother may have been, but he most certainly is not. Look at him! He's a scared kid trying to act tough. Use the powers I know you have, and actually feel what he feels for a change. He wants to prove his worth so badly to you that he is willing to kill his mother before he is even born! Just so that you aren't faced with the pain of her betrayal, and so that you don't have the worry of a possibly demonic son." Chris flicked his hand, knocking both Future Chris and Future Wyatt onto the floor.

Both rebounded immediately and Future Wyatt narrowed his eyes, squinting in their directions, moving both Chris and Wyatt away from Reilly.

"STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Leo roared. Both sets of his children froze immediately at the angry tone of their father's voice. Usually a pacifist, both sets of children needed less than one hand to count the number of times Leo had yelled at them. "Chris, Wyatt, get over here." He nodded to his sons' present versions. "The two of you…over there, next to your mother." Even though they were both father's themselves, Future Wyatt and Future Chris silently obeyed their father's command. Leo addressed his future sons. "I understand the pain and heartache of losing a child. I also understand the deep and unabating sorry of losing a loved one. However, you cannot place the blame for any of that grief on an innocent. That is what Reilly is. I can tell. I may not be an Elder any longer, but I still carry their innate sensing abilities. And one thing that I sense- stronger than anything else- is that Reilly is a good witch who happens to use demonic powers. Everything else is a matter of circumstance and chance."

"He helped her plan and execute an attack that killed Phiona, Dad. How do you forgive that? I don't care what your Elder senses are telling you. I know the truth. I saw it with my own eyes. He stood there, and told her where to find Phiona." Future Wyatt argued.

"She was going to kill Dad if I didn't! Dad was already knocked out. She had a fireball ready. She was going to use it! I thought Phiona would be able to blast her… or that I'd get to Gramma Piper first, and she could blast her!" Reilly burst out, his voice rough with the tears he refused to shed.

"Then why didn't you just tell me this before? Huh, Rei? If this is the truth, then why are you only telling us this now?" Future Chris asked tiredly.

"Because…she told me if I ever told you the truth, she'd kill you and Uncle Wyatt. She had a whole legion of dark lighters at her command. She was going to kill all of the white lighters in the family. I couldn't risk it."

"See, Reilly, that's exactly why we don't believe anything you tell us. Maya couldn't have threatened you, because she was already dead. I vanquished her myself!" Future Wyatt argued.

"No, you didn't. She went up in smoke, but that was her plan. She was the one behind all the attacks on you guys the last few years. She was the new Source."

"Was? What happened?" Present Chris broke in gently.

"I vanquished her. Well, Uncle Cole and me that is. She'd cast a spell a long time ago, about the time I was born. Her spell said that she was protected from all forms of Halliwell magic. My powers aren't Halliwell magic, they're demonic. But they weren't enough, so Uncle Cole helped me. His powers added to mine, were enough." Reilly's voice was soft, and slightly regretful.

"That is the biggest pile of… You know what, Reilly? This is why we don't buy your crap. You can vanquish her, but we couldn't? Do you really think you have that kind of power? That you could possibly be stronger than the both of us?" Future Wyatt scoffed incredulously.

Reilly dropped his head to his chest, trying desperately to keep his temper in check. "I don't give a damn what you think…_Wyatt_. It's not like you're family anyway. The only family I've got is my sister."

"I told you to stay away from her Reilly. Look at her! Look at what you've done. She's laying there bleeding from wounds that you created. Your rage and your hatred of our family have caused this! Did you ever think maybe, just maybe, that I was trying to protect her from this?" Future Chris demanded angrily, staring at his baby.

"BULLSHIT! You just wanted to stick it to me again. You don't give a damn about anything but your precious pride! All you care is that you don't get fooled by a demon again!" Reilly's head snapped up, as he stared into his father's face.

"All I care about is my family! And in case you haven't noticed, my daughter is dying. I've got to get her back home so that we can try to heal her. Move out of the way." Future Chris' voice was cold as he started to brush by his son.

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_(The Future)_

"Phyra, what you're suggesting is crazy! I remember those assassins. They were difficult to fight off even while we were in love. To send these girls back is crazy. They'll all get killed. And in case you haven't figured it out, that means you'll cease to exist in this time! Think of the repercussions that could have on all the good you've done!" Past Phyra stared in amazement at the sight of her mother admonishing her older self. She couldn't get over how similar this Paige looked to her version.

"Mom, I know. But think of it this way. If we don't go, Chris and Wyatt are likely to make the biggest mistake of their lives. What happens if they force Reilly fully over the line to evil? How much will that change the things that happen now? Or what if the unthinkable were to happen and Reilly actually kills Maya? He'll erase his own existence to save Raven's life and Chris' humanity. We need to go. I can make them listen to me. I will, I swear. And the girls need to go too, because they have more rapport with their Chris and their Wyatt. Please, mom. Help us."

"She's right, Paige. I have a potion that I made a long time ago. It's a protection potion, made with Konix's own blood. I was never quite sure that she was gone, so I thought, better safe than sorry. It will protect them. And if anything should go wrong, Reilly is there, and so are two versions of Chris and Wyatt, plus our past selves. They'll be protected." Piper spoke quietly from the corner of the kitchen.

"Are you sure that you girls want to do this? You realize how dangerous it is, right?" Phoebe asked nervously.

"Yeah, mom, we know. But it's for family, you know? We have to at least try." Patience said softly.

"All right. Here's the potion. But I want to cast a protection spell too." Paige handed them the potion vial Piper had held up. "let's see…" she made a humming sound as she grabbed a pen and the back of Piper's grocery list and began writing. After a few seconds she held it up for her sisters. "What do you think? Is it worthy of the Power of Three?"

Piper grinned at her youngest sister and grabbed her hand, while Phoebe grabbed the other. "_Powers great and powers small,_

_We call on Halliwell powers' all._

_Girls in danger, protect them well,_

_Save them from an eternal Hell."_

"Thanks mom." Future Phyra hugged her mom and Aunts quickly then ran back over to the girls. "Okay, listen, Phyra, concentrate on Chris and Wyatt. I'm going to do the same thing. Patience, Pey, I need you guys to do a chant. We'll be standing in a circle with 2 white candles for purity and transformation, a silver one for channeling, a blue for protection, and most importantly, three pink ones- to represent the powers of love, friendship and family lit in the center."

Paige and Phoebe wordlessly reached under the kitchen counter to grab the requested candles and hand them to their daughters. Future Phyra smiled her thanks. "Okay, now while we're trying to focus on Chris and Wyatt to send us to them, you guys need to chant the following: '_Send us back to where souls part, send us to them, heart to heart.'"_ Silently, Peyton lit the candles and reached for both versions of her sisters' hands. She nodded to Patience as she saw both Phyra's close their eyes in concentration. "_Send us back to where souls part, send us to them heart to hear. Send us back to where souls part, send us to them heart to heart."_ Abruptly, the circle of girls disappeared in a wash of gold and silver orbs.

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_(The Present)_

"Don't you ever think that you can just walk by me!" Reilly screamed, infuriated by his father's nonchalance towards him. "Chris and I had it figured out. Just go back to where you came from! No one wants you here!"

"Oh yeah? Too damn bad. Get out of my way, Reilly. Don't make me move you."

"No. I'm not letting you take her away again. I'm going to save her. Me and Chris. We'll fix this… without you! Just go away!"

Chris started to walk past him again, only to have Reilly block him. "You know what? I don't have time for this shit! You want to prove you're not a demon? Fine! Then don't stop me from protecting your sister."

"I'm not stopping you from protecting her! I want to save her! You can't just heal her…the empathy isn't a wound…it's a gift. In order to use your powers to save her, you'd have to bind her powers. You can't do that, because you'd never get her back home if you did. She'd no longer be magical. Just let me do this. God, please…just let me do this!"

"I told you to get out of my way!" Future Chris yelled. With a deep sigh, he flicked his fingers and pushed Reilly away telekinetically, running to Raven, laying his hands over her, trying to heal her. The wounds got worse.

"You Asshole!" Reilly screamed at Chris. Unconsciously, a fireball formed in his palm.

The living room filled with gold and silver orbs. "NO! Reilly, don't! Please!" Phyra yelled, running to him.

"Reilly, this isn't going to help, bucko." Future Phyra added.

"Don't listen to them son. They've treated you like a demon. They don't trust you. All they want to do is protect two men that have tormented you for your entire life. Go ahead. Listen to your instincts. Throw the fireball. Do it, You have the right!" Maya spoke from her position still lodged behind Excalibur.

Reilly closed his eyes for a heartbeat, then looked at Raven's bleeding body. His gaze hardened as it reached his father's eyes, then traveled to his Uncle. He gave their younger versions a small nod of appreciation. "Thanks…at least you tried." He stated simply before he half turned, and sent his fireball plunging into Maya's body, sending her up in a column of flames.


	14. Spellbound

**Thanks for the reviews. Again, I appreciate you all. And again, thanks for your patience in waiting for new chapters.**

**PS You'll probably notice a little more traditional Wiccan things in this chapter. I tried to explain the significance of them as easily as possible without making it too boring. I've been so bored lately, I've started reading anything, anywhere… and one of the things I found was several books on Wicca, and even a Book of Shadows that complements Charmed!**

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Reilly looked over at Chris quickly. "Thanks for trying. Sorry." His voice was thin as his body started to become transparent.

"REILLY! NO!" Raven screamed, as the wounds in her side magically healed.

"Love…you…kid" he whispered before disappearing completely.

"No! No! Reilly, come back! Please, please come back!" Raven cried desperately, reaching into the air where he had stood.

"Raven. Baby, shh…he 's gone honey. I'm so sorry." Wyatt soothed, taking the little girl in his arms, while glaring at his future self.

"Maybe not." Chris replied cryptically. He orbed out of the living room without any further conversation.

"Dad…" Wyatt called softly, not wanting to upset the already sobbing Raven. "Take her, ok? I'm going with Chris. If I can help him, then I will." Leo simply nodded at his oldest son, knowing it was pointless to argue. Wyatt closed his eyes, and started to follow his brother.

"Wyatt Halliwell, you wait right there! I'm going with you!" Phyra yelled, stopping Wyatt's orbs.

"Phyra, no. What are you even doing here anyway? I thought Chris told you to stay in the future, and he'd come and get you when it was safe." Wyatt ran his fingers through his hair frustratedly.

"Yeah, well, plans changed. I am going with you Wyatt. Whatever Chris is planning is going to be huge. You'll need my help." Phyra grinned at the look on her cousin's face. "Oh c'mon, Wy. You know I can help."

Future Wyatt snorted in sympathetic laughter. "You may as well let her go. She'll wear you down eventually anyway."

Wyatt's laser blue eyes rested on his future self's. "You don't talk to me. You don't look at me. As a matter of fact, you and _your_ brother might as well just go the hell back where you came from. Chris and I will fix this, and we'll do it by ourselves. We wouldn't want to accept help from a true evil after all." His voice was harsh and frigid.

"You can't possibly blame us for this! And evil? Unbelievable! Are you serious?" Future Wyatt's face showed his shock.

"Of course they blame you! Duh, Wyatt! You and Chris ignored Reilly when he was little, which gave Maya the perfect chance to nurture his evil side, while suppressing his white magic. Then, when he finally broke free of the evil powers- on his own, I might add, you both accused him with full responsibility of Phiona's death, which really was Maya's doing, not Reilly's! Then it that isn't enough, you blew normal teenage pranks and missteps WAY out of proportion, labeling him evil. You kept it up until you finally accused him of killing his best friend! Keira was his cousin, and his friend, you should have known automatically that any burn marks were defensive ones, not murderous ones. Instead, you threatened to bind his powers, so he left, and in your minds, that branded him evil. Even now, after he came here with a completely selfless plan, you blamed him for the emotional distress that caused Raven's injuries. He committed suicide because he wanted to save Raven, and he knew that the two of you would never, ever help him heal his emotions. Well, congratulations, you've rid yourself of the evil presence in your lives. All it cost you, Wyatt, is a nephew. And all it cost Chris is a wife, a son and a daughter's innocence. Look at her! Really look- use your empathy and feel what she is feeling! She doesn't love you right now; even she thinks you're horrible. She probably won't ever be able to forgive you for this, because you killed someone that she loves. Just like you couldn't ever forgive Reilly, Wyatt, Raven will never forgive you. And even if she ever does, she will never, _ever_ trust either of you again. She knows the truth of what happened today, just like all of us do. You may not have thrown the fire ball, but you are still responsible for Reilly's death." Phyra got into Future Wyatt's face, and kept her eyes locked on his as she spoke.

"It's easy for you to judge us, Phyra. You weren't there. You didn't see it unfold." Future Chris answered in a chilling voice.

"Hey- don't talk to her like that! I was there, and I tired to tell you both a hundred times that you were overreacting. But, heaven forbid either of you admit you were wrong. Both of you _had_ top be right, because if you weren't, then you'd have no choice but to admit how horribly wrong, and how evilly you treated Reilly." Future Phyra answered.

"Reilly…"Future Chris started.

"Is dead, daddy." Raven's tear filled voice broke through the tension with the ferocity of a lioness.

"Sweetheart, come here." Future Chris knelt down, opening his arms to his daughter.

"No!" Raven yelled, but stopped at the look on his face. "I…I need to be alone right now." She orbed away before anyone could protest.

"Damn it! Look what you just did!" Future Wyatt yelled at Phyra in frustration.

"What _I_ did? You guys are the one's responsible, not me!" Phyra shot back heatedly.

"Phy, stop. Look; let's just go find Chris. Let everyone else deal with _them._" Wyatt grabbed her hand, and orbed to Chris at her silent nod.

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Wyatt and Phyra orbed into Chris and Maya's bedroom. Chris was hurriedly searching through a footlocker at the bottom of the bed. Phyra looked around in astonishment. Her neat, ultra-organized cousin had trashed the room! Papers littered the carpet, filled with cryptic drawings and foreign words. Notebooks sat open, their pages torn and wrinkled. Candles of all colors, lengths and widths were strewn in the back corner of the room beside a large picnic basket, tipped onto it's side with the lid gaped open. A collection of glassy, polished rocks, pebbles and stones spilled out of it's home on the middle shelf of the solid oak bookcase.

"Jesus, Chris, you planning a Wiccan revival or something?" Wyatt joked.

"Nope. More like a Wiccan reincarnation."

"Yes!" Phyra jumped up and pumped her fist in the air. " I knew you weren't going to let him erase himself!"

Chris grinned at her enthusiasm. "Never, Phy. Never."

"So why the magical frenzy? Why don't you just go back in time a few hours and stop the fire ball from hitting Maya?" Wyatt asked, moving a tangled knot of feathers and ribbons from the bed.

Chris' enthusiasm dimmed. "Maya's evil, Wy. I…I can't believe it, but I know it's true nonetheless. That being the case, I don't want to bring her back unless I absolutely have to. Reilly is a different thing, though. I want him back. I want my son."

Wyatt's answer was soft and somber. "Chris, Reilly doesn't exist without her. Not in this time anyway."

"Reilly's body didn't exist in this time. But his soul was six weeks old. Maya was pregnant, Wy. We didn't tell anyone because we didn't want to steal your thunder, with Abby being pregnant too. But anyway, when you revive someone, you revive their soul, not their body. Since his soul existed in his time, I should be able to bring it back to me, to bring it to life."

"You'll still need a body for that soul, Chris." Wyatt pointed out hesitantly.

"He has a body. It's mixed in with Maya's ashes. He had a body. We just never saw it!'

"Oh, I should go get the ashes then, before they get rid of them." Phyra offered earnestly.

"Thanks, but you don't have to. I already orbed them here myself. They're in that bowl." Chris motioned absently. He continued to rummage through the fool locker.

"What are you looking for?"

"A spell, Wy. What else? I made it when Patrick died. I was going to use it, but then he was made a white lighter and returned to us, so I didn't have to." He pushed aside a box of crystals, revealing a small, worn journal. "Here it is!" he crowed triumphantly.

Phyra took it from his hands and opened it. "How to Pass A Calculus Test." She read, cocking an eyebrow at Chris. "So this is how you were valedictorian, hmm?"

Chris laughed. "Not quite. That spell was the one and only school spell I ever cast. See I passed the calc test, but thanks to the personal gain clause, I failed every other test that week. I think the reincarnation spell is in the middle."

Phyra skipped a chunk of pages, then flipped one by one, reading aloud. "To Create a Time Loop. Making a Goblin into a Wood Nymph. To Control the Elements. The Lust Spell…Ewwww! Oh, here it is: To Reincarnate a Family Member." Phyra laid the book flat on the footlocker.

"Holy Shit! Chris, that is a more involved spell than any in the Book of Shadows!" Wyatt gaped at the long list of supplied ingredients need to make the spell strong enough to work correctly.

"Yeah, I know. But it's harder bringing someone back than getting rid of them, you know."

"OK, so let's get started. Ingredients: 1 red candle, 1 silver candle, 1 pink candle and 1 green candle." Wyatt looked up in curiosity. "Why the specified colors? Won't just plain old white work?"

"Well, if you follow the traditional practices of Wicca, the colors have meanings. For example, in this spell, red represents life, silver represents psychic energy, pink is for family and green for luck. Maybe it means nothing, but I figured it couldn't hurt, right?"

"Yeah, but mom and the aunts never bother with that."

"I'm not mom or the aunts, Wy. I don't know if I buy it or not, but either way, it's worth a shot."

"Definitely. It was good thinking, cuz. Let's see we need pink glass. Got it. Glass allows you to see through veils. In this case, it would be the veil between life and death, right Chris?" Phyra asked after placing a large piece of glass on the bed.

"Yeah. How do you know that?" Chris asked as he gathered an eagle's feather, a small vial of purified water and a jar of purple ink.

"Some of us actually pay attention in Magical Theories at Magic School. I don't spend all my time flirting with the hottie in the back row." Phyra grinned shamelessly at her cousins.

"That is just a nasty thought. I'd rather think you have no idea what a hottie is." Chris remarked baldly with a slight shiver.

"All right, Miss Smarty Pants. So why do I need agate, amethyst, copper, garnet and gold?" Wyatt quizzed playfully as he sorted the stones onto the bed.

"Okay, big boy. Prepare to be shocked and amazed. Agate is for longevity, amethyst for balance and mental tranquility. Copper is for luck and love. Garnet equals commitment and gold is a masculine symbol. It's usually for self-awareness, but can also be a diviner of the male sex. In this case, it's most likely to find the male relative we're searching for- Reilly."

Chris stopped for a minute to look up at Phyra. "Phy, I'm glad you're here. I guess I shouldn't have brought you to the future. I should have trusted that you could keep yourself safe. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Aunt Piper is the reason I'm here. Future Aunt Piper anyway. Her and Aunt Phoebe and mom gave us a potion and cast a protection spell before they'd let us come. That way we'll be protected from Konix. Aunt Piper made the potion years ago with some of the flesh from Konix's attack. Besides, it I hadn't gone to the future, you wouldn't have known that Reilly wasn't a demon. So all in all, no biggie."

Chris swept her into a quick hug. "It is to me." He sighed. "Okay, so let's gather all this stuff and get it over to the manor. We need to cast this in the attic. By the way, I uh, could use your help. Both of you."

"Bro, don't you get it? You've already got it." Wyatt slung an arm around Chris' shoulders.

"Yeah, totally, cuz!" Phyra grabbed the toppled backet, and gathering in the assembled ingredients, include the bowl of ashes. "We're set."

The three dissolved in a wash of orbs.

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They reassembled in the attic. Phyra started to grab the chalk, but Chris grabbed her hand instead. "Phy, can you go do the potion instead? You're great at them, plus I really don't want to deal with Future Boy…Well, Future Boys right now. I just want my son."

Phyra grabbed the basket and notebook and orbed to the kitchen. She poked her head into the living room where the rest of the family stood, still arguing with Future Chris and Wyatt. "Aunt Piper? I need you in here for a minute, please."

Piper swung into the kitchen. "Ugh, thank you, Phy. How in the world I raised two sons like that is beyond me. If I didn't know better, I'd swear they were possessed. How can two people change that much? Anyway, so what's up?"

"I can't say much, but it involves a potion. Any idea where the sage is? It should be with the other fresh herbs, but its not there."

"It's in the basket over the sink. I hid it from Phoebe. She was muttering about making an anti-orbing spell. I didn't think she'd actually do it, but figured better safe." Piper leaned on the counter and peered into the bubbling pot. "So, what plan have my genius boys cooked up? I know Chris won't just let Reilly stay dead."

"Um…let's just say it's very intricate. And you're right, Chris won't let Reilly die for good." Phyra grabbed the safe and added it to the pot. Piper plucked the eagle feather from the basket, and handed it to her. Phyra carefully poured the purified water over the eagle feather before letting it drift carefully into the pot. She added the glass and the stones into the pot then followed them with six carefully measured drops of ink into the pot. Steam rose in large plumes from the pot. "Done."

"Um…not quite. Phy, this potion calls for a parent's blood. Its this a potion to revive Reilly?" Piper demanded.

"Yeah, All I need is Chris' blood and it'll be all set."

"It won't work. A potion alone can't revive the dead. If it could, everyone would do it."

"We also have the power of the triquetra, not to mention a spell that Phy, Chris and I are all going to cast. Most people don't have the power that the three of us have, nor the will." Wyatt answered from the stairway. "We're ready, Phy."

"Okay, Wy. Potion's done too, except for the six drops of Chris' blood."

"Ready?" Wyatt asked, holding out his hand. "Phyra grabbed the handle of the pot, and walked up to Wyatt. "Ready, Wy." Together they orbed back to the attic.

Piper sighed to the empty kitchen. "Good luck, you three."

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"Okay, Wy, you and Phy stand in those two corners, and I'll take this one. We've got the candles lit, in a circle around the ashes in the center.

"Chris, don't forget the blood." Phyra reminded him. With a nod, Chris cut his finger and squeezed out six drops of blood.

"Okay, we read the spell on three, then you throw the potion, Phy. Ready? One…two…three."

'_Keeper of Eternal light,_

_Fix the wrong and make it right._

_Bring us he, who's soul contains_

_In the ashes, begot through pains._

_What came to past, bring anew to life._

_We want the son, but not the wife.'_

Phyra threw the potion and as it hit the ashes, plumes of smoke filled the attic until no one could see. A huge clap of thunder sounded and the candles blew out, plunging the attic into complete darkness.


	15. Rebirth

"Look, I can't stand here arguing with you anymore. I need to find Raven before anything happens to her." Future Chris snapped at Peyton and his parents.

"Oh, so now you're worried about your children? I thought you didn't do that." Peyton sneered at her future cousin angrily.

"I have always loved and cared and worried about Raven. About _all_ my children. I'm not really the heartless bastard you all seem to think I am. I tried to save Reilly from himself, long before the situation came to this. You can all paint me as a horrible villain as much as you'd like. It doesn't change the fact that Reilly rebelled against everything that denoted him a Halliwell. He refused to learn, refused to even try. He was trouble, he'd committed dozens of petty crimes, and was just a step away from juvenile hall. He simply didn't believe in good needing to defeat evil. Instead, he had the skewed notion that he could create a world immune to the forces of good and evil- and that he could lead it! So, tell me, does that sound familiar?" Future Chris stare into Piper's eyes, willing her to remember the first time he had time-travelled and why.

"Whatever! That is such a crock. How 'bout we discuss the merits of nature versus nurture? Let's face it, Reilly was the walking epitome of the debate. Maya actively nurtured the evil. But his natural, innate goodness found a way through the evil. Maybe he did commit petty crimes. What were they, Chris? Shoplifting? Graffiti, maybe? Attention grabbing crimes, maybe?" Peyton demanded.

The question hit far too close to home. Future Chris stared, then ignoring her question, started to orb away.

"Oh, no you don't!" Peyton yelled, reaching into his orb, stopping it. She glared at him. "Try that again, and I'll ground your orbs."

Future Chris shrugged out of her grasp. "Look, I have to find Raven. And, just for the record, my orbs haven't been grounded since I was seventeen, and even then it took the power of Three. Somehow, I doubt you can stop me now."

"Oh, really?" Peyton narrowed her eyes and stared directly into his eyes as she spoke.

"Cousins of a future hour

I now call upon the ancient power.

Hold them fast, but them them move

Don't let them orb in white or blue."

Peyton grinned impishly. "You can go now. Go ahead, go get Raven."

Future Chris confidently closed his eyes, and tried to orb. "What the? You don't have the power to do that to me…to us!"

Wyatt laughed as he walked down the stairs with Phyra. "She does when I'm saying it, and offering my powers telepathically."

"Wyatt, reverse it…NOW. I have to find Raven." Future Chris shouted at this younger version of his brother.

"Jesus H Christ! You lost her too?" Wyatt lost his grin. What the hell kind of father was his brother anyway?

"She left after Reilly…disappeared. She wanted to be alone, but it's just not safe."

"Yeah, well, don't' worry about her. She's fine." Phyra said confidently.

"How do you know that?" Future Wyatt asked, a hint of scorn buried in his voice.

"Because your Phyra has a strong connection to Raven. Right?" She asked her future self.

"Well, yeah, but I can't sense her right now."

"Of course you can't. There are only two places that make it impossible to sense a person at, right? One is the Underworld. The other is Up There. You know, Elderland A.K.A. Heaven. She went to be with her brother."

"Get rid of this damn spell, NOW Wyatt! I have to find her, I have to go get her! She's in the Underworld, she'll be killed!"

Phyra narrowed her eyes and before either Future cousin could react, slugged Future Chris as hard as she could. "Reilly didn't go to Hell, you asshole! He wasn't evil! Why can't you get that through your thick retarded skull? I swear you have got to be the dumbest box of rocks on earth!"

Wyatt pulled Phyra into his arms, holding her tightly. "Phy, calm down. You're…sparking."

"Huh?" Phyra looked down at her hands. Tiny orange sparks were shooting from all ten fingers. Her jaw dropped in astonishment. "Wy…I don't…how…what is going on?"

"I'd say your powers are evolving more." Wyatt answered simply.

"Hey! That's not fair! She just barely got a new power! It's my turn." Peyton protested.

"Pey, honey, if this timeline runs like mind did, Phy is going to get all of her powers really soon. But don't worry. You get powers too- strong ones. Yours will just come spaced apart a little. And you will always be her best friend, you know, no matter what powers either of you possess. In fact, that solid base of both sisterhood and friendship will forever ground and magnify your powers, just like it does for Chris and Wyatt." Future Phyra spoke to the past version of her sister.

Phyra laughed aloud at the last comment. "Yeah, just like Chris and Wy only _way_ less powerful." Peyton nodded her wholehearted agreement.

Future Phyra grinned. "You'd be surprised" was her only comment.

"Hey, if the admiration society meeting is over, could one of you be so kind as to tell me where my daughter is!" Future Chris yelled in frustration.

Upstairs, a baby started to cry. Paisley glared at Future Chris as she walked past him to go to Phiona.

"Look, Raven is with Reilly. And Reilly is at peace, ok? Don't worry about her, Raven is fine." Phyra answered slowly.

"Hey- by the way, where _is_ Chris?" Leo asked suddenly, noticing that he hadn't come down with Wyatt and Phyra.

Phyra and Wyatt shared a look and grinned at each other broadly. "He's in the attic, dad. He's…uh, communicating with spirits." Wyatt answered carefully.

"That's so weird." Paisley reappeared at the top of the stairs. "Phiona is still sound asleep. I must be more tired than I thought. I could've sworn I heard a baby cry."

"So did I." Piper answered, training her steady gaze on Wyatt. "So, Wy, you said Chris is communicating with spirits. Has he reached any of them yet?"

Wyatt didn't hesitate as he answered his mother. "You could say that he has the situation safely in hand."

Piper smile at the affirmation of her hopes. "So the spell worked?"

Chris orbed in, a bundle cradled in his right arm, and Raven's hand firmly clasped in the left. The bundle was wriggling and crying loudly. "Pais! Help! He's hungry, I think. Can I borrow a bottle and some formula?"

Paisley nodded, a bit shocked, and ran into the kitchen.

"Daddy, look! It's Reilly!" Raven exclaimed excitedly, calling to her father.

"Chris…what did you do?" Future Chris demanded, staring into the face of a familiar baby.

"What does it look like? I got my son back. When you go back, he'll be different. Hopefully, you will be too." Chris answered coldly, not taking his gaze off the baby he was bouncing gently in his arms.

"Why would you do that? Didn't you see what happened here? Were you blind? Reilly was my son and I loved him, but evil was in his blood. He is…was evil and that doesn't change. Once the seed of evil has been sown, there is no turning back!"

"How can you stand here, in the middle of this family and say something as stupid as that? Look at Aunt Phoebe and Cole! Cole was the Source- the purest form of evil there is! He tried to kill our entire family line, and was vanquished over and over again. But their love was stronger than the evil inside him, it brought him firmly over to the side of good. He is a demon, but he is good. And for that matter, how many times in this family has the 'seed of evil been sown'? What about twice a year every year for all of us? It's a rite of passage in this family, for Christ's Sake! Wyatt was even the Source in the other timeline! Having been evil, or having demonic powers, doesn't make you evil forever. It can, and does change. Love changes it. In case you still don't know, love is the purest and strongest force on earth or anywhere else. It's stronger than good, and more powerful than evil. The future will change this time. I'll make it change for the better. Reilly won't have his powers suppressed- any of them. He'll have my full attention, and won't have to worry about the persuasion of an demonic mother. Got back to your future, and just love your son. Hate Maya if you have to, but love Reilly. He's earned it. He literally gave up everything for this family, including his life." Chris' voice was strong with passion and conviction, as he held the infant tight to his chest.

Paisley came back in, handing Chris a warmed bottle of formula. Chris watched a look of awe on his face as the baby immediately started sucking hungrily on the rubber nipple. He smiled a bit sadly as he kissed his son's forehead and said softly to the air, "Thanks, Maya."

Future Chris closed his eyes tightly again the emotions roaring through him at Chris' words.

Patience held her head as emotions assaulted her empathically. "Whoa! Chris, put a lid on the emotional storm, huh?"

Chris looked up, distracted from his son. "What? I didn't do anything!"

"Not you, him!" She pointed to Future Chris. Abruptly, her eyes filled with tears.

"Honey, are you okay?" Phoebe asked concerned.

"He's just in so much pain, Mom. He just realized how much pain and regret he caused Reilly. He's so guilty, and horrified. Oh, God… He's…he's wishing that he could change time again, so that he could change himself."

Future Chris refused to look at anyone except Raven. "Raven, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I was so blind. I wouldn't believe you or him, or anyone else that tried to tell me. If…I could change it, I would Raven. Please, believe me. I would." He folded his daughter in his arms holding her close.

"You have the chance now. Reilly won't know anything about his other life, other than that his mother was evil and that she died before he was born. Chris said quietly. "You'll have the second chance you just said you wanted, if you truly do want one."

"Thank you, Chris. I…Just…Thank you." Future Chris whispered hoarsely. He turned to Future Wyatt and Phyra. "Let's go, okay? I want to see my son." He looked at Chris holding Reilly. "I need to hug him." Future Wyatt, Future Phyra and Raven gathered around Future Chris.

"Wait!" Wyatt called out. He look his future half in the eyes. "I didn't help Chris just to give Reilly a second chance. I did it to help Keira and Phiona too. I'll do everything in my power to make sure both of them are waiting for you when you get back."

Future Wyatt smiled. "Suddenly, I can't wait to go home." His face grew serious. "Be careful. Don't forget about Konix." At Wyatt's nod, the four disappeared in a shower of white and gold orbs.

"Aw, how touching. It's so nice to be remembered." Konix sneered as she shimmered in with a group of demons behind her.

"No! Phyra, take the babies, and just keep orbing. Don't stop until I say its safe. Pey, you take Patience, and do the same." Chris ordered, handing Reilly to Phyra.

"No, Chirs, we want to help. We're safe!" She protested as the demons began to spread out.

"I don't care! Go- NOW!" He yelled. Paige added her own command. "Get out of here! Chris changed the future, so that potion may not work now! GO!"

Phyra finally nodded and orbed up to grab Phiona. Peyton grabbed Patience's arm and orbed away.

"You may as well leave now. If you don't we'll vanquish you." Wyatt threatened darkly.

"That's a chance we'll take. Konix made a swishing motion with her hand. Abruptly, Chris was in the middle of a circle of assassin demons! "Our original orders were to attack all but you. But, now. We have higher orders." Konix leaned in closely to Chris, intentionally releasing pheromones into the air. "Jagni! Keep the others occupied while I deal with this one." She ordered, as he deflected an energy ball from Wyatt and a knife thrown by Phoebe.

A large male demon took a step back and threw a round bomb-like object into the center of the room. As it hit, smoke filled the room. He grinned as the smoke cleared, revealing the Halliwells encased in glass shells.

Konix licked Chris' cheek. "Wonderful little creation, isn't it? Your family is immobile, encased in unbreakable glass, but they are still completely lucid. They'll be able to see and hear your demise."

Chris forced his heavy eyelids open. "You won't defeat me."

"Don't be ridiculous." Konix laughed harshly. "The only way to defeat us is to be in love when we attack. You killed your wife, that's hardly an act of husbandly devotion."

"That's what you think. I love Maya. Even though she's both dead and evil, I always have. Which means, I still have the power to do win. With or without my family's help." Chris brought up a hand, and shot an elder bolt directly between Konix's black eyes. She screamed in anger as she erupted into flames. Chris turned quickly, and called for the nearest weapon he could find- Excalibur. With a shaky quiver, he speared two demons with it, burying it deeply into the wall. From experience he knew that it would stay there until Wyatt retrieved it. He pivoted quickly and reflected Wyatt's energy ball power into Jagni. As he erupted into a column of fire, the family unfroze. Piper immediately began blasting as Wyatt tossed energy balls into the remaining demons.

Chris put his hands on his knees and bent over, trying to catch his breath. "Chris! Are you okay?" Wyatt rushed to his side, as the lone remaining demon shimmered away in surrender.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Do me a favor though? Call Phy and get her and the rest of the kids back here okay? I have a horrible feeling that this isn't over. Not by a long shot."


	16. Fathers and Sons

"Chris? You okay? I saw the light on." Leo stepped into the room.

"Dad, I'm find. I'm not going to self-destruct or anything. You really didn't need to come over here."

"I know, but I just thought you might need to talk."

Chris laughed humorlessly. "What about?"

"You know what about. Don't play dumb with me, it's beneath you. C'mon, Chris. In the space of a day you found a son, watched him die, saw your wife die after finding out that she was betraying you, and then you brought your son back to life. Plus, you saw a future that proved you as a bitter, stubborn man. Finally, you now have the Source on your tail, thirsting for revenge. All in all, it's been an eventful day." Leo sat beside his son on the sofa.

"Thanks for reminding me, dad. I'd forgotten." Chris sighed, and apologized. "Sorry, I just don't think it's really set in yet." He coughed harshly to clear his through before looking at Leo. "I…keep looking for Maya, dad. It's stupid. I mean, I know now that she was evil, and plotting to kill the entire family, plus hurting our son. I get that she was going to turn Reilly into that tortured kid we saw. But I can't help it. I love her, dad. I…miss her. It's not something I can control, I can't stop it. No matter what she was going to do, she hadn't done yet. Because of that, I can't help but love her, even though I know I shouldn't."

Leo sighed and wrapped an arm comfortingly over Chris' shoulders. "Maybe you shouldn't try to control it. I mean, don't go so over the top that you cause another storm of the century, but just mourn her loss. No matter what she did in the future, she hadn't done any of it yet. In your memories, Maya will always be your loving wife. She hadn't shown herself to be anything but. Maybe it will be easier and more therapeutic if you just treat her death as a horrible accident that you can't erase."

"She made our son evil, dad. At least she would have tried to. Is it fair to treat her memory like she was a wonderful, loving person who was truly good? To let Reilly believe that she wasn't truly evil?" Chris' eyes were cloudy with both sadness and confusion.

"Do you really think it would be better to tell him she was a monster, when in all honesty, she hadn't done anything to us yet when she died?"

"I don't want Reilly to think either option. So what do I tell him?"

"Be honest. Just tell him that Maya was a demon, but that you loved her anyway."

Chris nodded. "And when he asks what happened to her?"

"Just say that she died the day he was born because of a demon attack. He doesn't need to know that she was the threat. Later, when he's an adult, you can tell him the truth."

Both Chris and Leo lapsed into silence, both lost in their thoughts. Leo cleared his throat, and shifted on the sofa. "Chris, did I ever tell you about my life before I became a white lighter?"

Chris shot him a confused glance. "Yeah, you were a medic killed in combat in World War II."

"No, well, yeah, that's true, but I meant about my family." At Chris' headshake, Leo continued. "You see, I was married when I died. It took a really long time for me to figure out how to deal with the fact that I'd lost her. We were kids when we were married, but I truly did love her. And suddenly, I had to go on in this insanely new life without her. It was strange, adapting to this new life of magic, knowing that she was back there, morning and grieving. But I had to make a choice. I could either whole-heartedly throw myself into my new life and make the future as bright as possible, I could die, or I could dwell on a past that I was powerless to change. I made the choice. And because of that choice, I met the only woman worth bending the rules for, and worth risking everything that I am or was for. Because of that choice, I got two sons who have power beyond my wildest imagination, plus hearts and souls that are unequalled by any other- mortal or magical."

Chris snorted. "It feels like that heart and soul are both broken. I feel powerless, not powerful. I don't know how to make sure Reilly doesn't grow up to be that kid we saw. I can't let that happen to him, dad. I need to do better than that."

"You will, Chris. I have no doubt of that."

"How can you say that? You saw what I turned into!"

"I say it because it's true. Listen, Chris, you and Wyatt are as close as humanly possible. But from the day you were born- before actually, because we saw it in our visitor from the future- we knew there was at least one major difference between the two of you. Wyatt is all logic, knowledge and science. He needs to know how things will work before he's willing to try them. All of his actions come thought out fully with at least one back up plan. You, Chris, are based more in the mystical. You feel things and instinctively know them before you even try. Chris, there is absolutely nothing on earth more mystical than human emotions, and that is your strength."

"Dad, all of our powers are rooted in emotions. You know that, it's part of being a Halliwell." Chris scoffed.

"True, but Chris, let me put it another way. Wyatt uses his emotions as a guide, and as a power boost, but generally has a background of logic, much like I do. You tend to use your powers in conjunction with your emotions, like Piper. Think about it, Chris. Really, when you get the angriest, your powers are strongest. Generally, the only things that are powerful enough to piss you off that badly are threats to, or harm coming to this family. If you think about it, even your lives outside of magic work that way. Wyatt is the logical businessman at the restaurant. You are the one with the passion for the cooking, you love to finesse the food into a delicious concoction that has made you famous in this city. Between the two of you, blending your strengths, you've become very wealthy, successful men. And the most amazing part of that is that you barely are men yet…You're only 24, and Wyatt's only 26. To have accomplished all that you have, you should be so proud."

"Dad. Thanks for the compliments, they mean a lot, really, but you're babbling. Is there a point coming soon?"

"My point is that I have no doubt you will be a wonderful father, Chris. You feel deeply, you care and you have the most important thing a parent can possess- common sense. You already know the mistakes that were made the first time, you now you can fix it. In case you haven't noticed, that's another thing you're great at…fixing the future."

Chris remained stubbornly silent.

"Jesus, Chris! I know that you know how many mistakes I made in your first timeline. I've fixed it this time, so I know you can too."

Chris found his first smile. "Thanks, dad. I didn't even know I needed to hear that until you said it, but somehow you did."

Leo grinned, and couldn't resist the urge to tousle his son's hair. "Chris, I know I'm your dad, but don't forget, I'm also your white lighter. I know when a charge is hurting."

Chris laughed. "It's been so long since we've needed it, I guess I forgot you were my white lighter."

Chris picked his head up as Reilly started to cry from the other room. He yawned and started to get up. Leo waved at him to sit. "I'll go, Chris. With your mom and aunts hogging him earlier, I didn't get a chance to hold him."

Leo reappeared seconds later with Reilly in his arms. "Chris, do you honestly have him sleeping in the bath tub?"

Chris flushed red. "I made sure I lined it with a comforter, and a pillow over all the hard parts so he couldn't get hurt, and it'd be soft. I don't have a crib yet, and the stores were closed. I didn't want to use magic to conjure one. He should be okay there for tonight, right? I'm going to sleep on the floor in there with him. I just didn't want to take the chance that he'd roll off the bed."

Leo hid his smile. "Chris, he's too small to roll over. And by the way, it's April out, not February. He doesn't need five blankets."

"Well, he's just so little. He was shivering! I didn't have much to dress him in, only the clothes of mine that mom found in the attic." Chris stated defensively.

"Okay, listen, Chris. Call Wyatt and get him over here. I'm going to bring Reilly to the manor, so your mom can watch him for a while. You, me and Wy are going shopping for baby stuff."

"Dad, it's 2 a.m. There aren't any stores open."

"Chris, you are a white lighter. We can orb anywhere in the world. Somewhere, there are baby stores open. We're going to find one, and then orb it all back here."

Chris stared at his father. "Isn't that personal gain?"

"Witches worry about personal gain, Chris. White lighters only have to answer to the elders. But your aunt has orbed all over the earth just for the sake of it being easier, so why not us?" Before Chris could argue further, Leo orbed away with Reilly in his arms.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"What do you mean, Christopher Halliwell lives? I ordered his head be brought to me! How dare you fail me?" The Source thundered angrily at the lone assassin that had escaped the Halliwell's wrath.

"Sire, the pheromones didn't work. He said he loved Maya still. It's the only explanation."

"Imbecile! If he loved her, my daughter would be alive still. He found out her secret, and killed her because of it. He must have found a way around your pheromones. Regardless, he will pay…as will you." His glittering eyes snapped onto the assassin's as he hurled a fireball at him. The Source sniffed, stepping directly onto the pile of ashes that marked where the demon had stood. "They will all pay." He spoke to the empty room before shimmering away.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Dad, Chris only has one baby, not twelve. What does he need all this crap for?" Wyatt complained tiredly as they exited the last store, laden with packages.

Leo laughed. "Wy, you just wait a few months. You'll see why we need this 'crap'."

"You'll never convince me about that baby backpack thing. Why can't you just hold the kid for crying out loud?"

Leo slung a casual arm around Wyatt's shoulders. "Because, kiddo, even the most powerful witches' arms get tired after hauling around a wriggling 10 pound baby all afternoon." Leo chuckled, then lowered his voice. "Plus, if you get ambushed by demons, having both hands free helps a lot."

"yeah, speaking of demons, let's get this stuff back to the hotel, so we can orb it all home. I don't want to leave Reilly alone any longer than necessary." Chris broke in briskly. "What?" he added defensively after seeing his brother and father's stares.

"Chris, Reilly is at the Manor. He's as far from along as possible. Between your mom, Aunts and Uncles, and cousins, Reilly has enough people around him to create his own football team."

"Yeah, a kick ass magical football team, at that." Wyatt added.

Chris laughed. "Well, at least I know Aunt Phoebe will literally sit on a demon, while mom and Aunt Paige torture him if one attacks."

"Hey, hey…c'mon in their defense, you mom and aunts had had a really rough night. I'd been called 'Up There', your Uncles were both dosed with a sleeping potion, and it Samheim_ and_ a full moon, so they'd lost control over their powers. There was no way they were going to let a low-level Broxa demon kidnap you two. They used what they had. All in all, they kicked butt, as always." Leo immediately defended the sisters as he always had when this particular memory came up.

"True, but they really didn't need to laugh and poke him with a cooking fork in front of a six and eight year old!" Chris protested with a laugh.

Leo dismissed the comment with a wave. "Well, you won't have to worry about him being 'scarred for life' like you to always complain about. He's only a day old- even if the same this did happen, he wouldn't remember it."

Chris sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know. I guess I'm just…nervous. I don't want to be away from him. Too many bad things can happen."

"Chris, bro, would you relax? You're not going to screw up. Neither of us will, okay? Super witches equal super dads, all right?" Wyatt reassured teasingly.

"And, don't forget, Chris, even if you are a witch and a white lighter, you're still a human being. Bad things will happen, that's a given, whether you have anything to do with magic or not. What truly matters, is how you deal with them." Leo answered.

Both Chris and Wyatt stopped in front of the hotel. "Dad, we're witches. Powerful, feared witches. I'm Twice Blessed, Chris is Thrice Blessed. Bad things, aside from the occasional demon really won't be much of an issue." Wyatt commented blithely.

"Oh really, Wy? If that's the case, you never would have gotten lost on our trip to Yosemite. Chris never would have been suspended from high school for beating Jay Carten when he'd slugged Chris girlfriend…uh…Becca. You wouldn't have been kidnapped fifty times, Chris wouldn't have died in my arms…do I really need to go on? After all, you are the children of the Charmed Ones. Not only do you have to worry about the normal every day kid bad stuff, but you have to worry about the magical ones too."

Chris and Wyatt both remained silent as they walked into the hotel lobby. Wyatt finally spoke in the elevator. "Dad, how did you deal with that? How did you and Mom deal with all the normal stuff at the same time as all the magical stuff?"

"You just…do. There's no way to explain a parent's actions except that once you hold that baby in your arms, you exist for them. There is nothing too hard or not worth the hassle when it comes to your children. And it never ends, whether that child is two hours old, two years or twenty-two years old. Once those kids are with you, there is absolutely nothing on earth that you won't do, nothing that you won't give to create a perfect life for your kids. All of that just means that you figure out a way to fix the bad stuff." Leo smiled at both of his sons as the elevator doors opened with a ding. "Besides, you two already have things pretty well under control. You had a real bad thing happen with Maya and Reilly. But you found a way to fix it. You gave Reilly a second chance. By combining powers you made it happen. So you already both know what being a parent means."

Chris grinned. "So basically, you're saying don't worry about screwing up our kids- after all magic can always help us save them."

Wyatt and Leo both laughed. "Yeah, Chris. I guess you could say that. At least with most things. Magic didn't help us any with the Jay Carten incident." Leo answered dryly.

"He had it coming. He punched Becca when she wouldn't go out with him. He's lucky I didn't send him straight to Hell- literally!" Chris protested.

"I know. Which is exactly why you got to go to Magic School during your suspension instead of being grounded for a month like your vice-principal suggested."

"Ah…VP Foley. He brings back memories, eh Chris?" Wyatt grinned sharing a look with Chris.

"Yeah, what a porker." Both Wyatt and Chris broke out in laughter.

Leo watched in confusion. "Am I missing something?"

"Well, dad, you know how Aunt Phoebe turned that guy the paper assigned to work with her into a hog? Well after Chris got back to school after the suspension, Foley called Chris and me into his office. He started bitching about behavior such as ours wouldn't be tolerated in his school and how he understood we had 'emotional issues' due to our 'domestic issues'. He basically called Mom a trashy drunken bar tramp, and you a pathetic loser who couldn't keep a job. We finally had enough and turned into a pig using Aunt Phoebe's spell. Then we called out for pizza, and when we were done, reversed the spell. He never said anything else about our family."

"You two used magic for revenge? Not to mention for personal gain?" Leo shook his head, stunned. "I am so disappointed in both of you. Magic is a privilege…"

"Not a right… We know dad." Chris interrupted. "It was a long time ago, and I promise, it was the only time we've ever done it. We learned our lesson when we grew curly little tails and kept them for a week."

Wyatt scowled, remembering. "Yeah… I had to cancel on Jennifer Macon… damn, that sucked. She never spoke to me again."

Leo started laughing uproariously. "See guys, you have nothing to stress about. Sometimes magic does it's own parenting. C'mon, let's get out of here. I'm beat."


	17. Remember When

**A/N: The hand is starting to get better, so hopefully that means, more updates faster! Thanks for sticking with me through all of this. And please… tell your friends if you like it!**

"Rock a bye, baby, on the tree top…"

Piper stopped dead outside Chris' old bedroom unable to believe the sight in front of her.

Cole's head snapped up, as he swung an arm around, armed with a fireball.

"Whoa, there, buddy! I come in peace!" Piper quipped recognizing Cole's gut reaction to being startled.

"Piper…sorry." Cole muttered, embarrassed. "I…uh…"

"I saw…or heard, I should say. I didn't know you dealt with babies."

"I don't…never have before, that is. Between the demon thing, then being the Source, then being banished to the Wastelands, there just wasn't time." He snorted, thinking of the baby he'd made with Phoebe when he was the Source. "Not that I ever wanted to before…babies were just…a means to an end." Reilly snuffled in his sleep and Cole went back to rocking him gently.

"Really? 'Cause you seem to be enjoying little Rei Rei here." Piper remarked dryly.

Cole grinned. "We seem to understand each other."

"Must be all that demon blood. Makes it easier to bond." Piper laughed.

"Could be. He woke up a few minutes ago. I heard this noise, and I thought there was a demon attacking. I shimmered in, and called up a fireball before I realized that he was making the noise. But as soon as he saw my fireball, he stopped screaming and started…cooing, I think."

Piper laughed at the look on Cole's face. "That doesn't really surprise me actually. Chris was the same way. That boy was never as content as when we were fighting demons. He used to love seeing fireballs, energy balls, orb shadows- anything bright. When he was really crabby, Leo used to juggle balls of orbs to make him happy enough to sleep. I swear, he was born to excel at this. I guess I should have known…"

"Known what?" Cole prompted at the lost look on Piper's face.

"Known that magic would hurt him. I'd hoped…He is so good at this, right, Cole? So, I guess I just thought that he'd be the one Halliwell that magic wouldn't screw over. Wishful thinking, huh?"

Cole patted her hand awkwardly. "It wasn't _all_ bad, Piper. Magic gave you Leo, after all."

"And tore him away from me fifteen times."

"Paige got Jax and the girls."

"Yeah, but she had to watch Henry died in a demons-gone-wild spree to get it."

"Prue…well let's not mention Prue. Phoebe…Phoebe got me."

Piper stared at Cole incredulously. "You tried to kill us all. Often, and in varied ways. Then Phoebe had to go through a long line of loser boyfriends 'til you came back. And don't even _get_ me started on Les!"

"Yeah, well, it was _magic_ that brought me back just in time, wasn't it?"

"ARGH! Arguing with you is like arguing with…"

"a demon?" Cole offered with a grin.

Piper gave up and nodded with a matching smile. "Yeah, something like that."

"All I'm saying is that while magic may have caused you a lot of heartache, there has always been a higher meaning behind it."

"Yeah, well, it's a lot easier to figure that out when it one of us being screwed over, instead of our kids. How many times will he have to change the horrible circumstances that magic deals him? And why is it always his cross to bear?" Piper's eyes were watery with emotion.

"Oh, come on, Piper. You know as well as I do, that the magical powers that be never offer more powers than a person can handle. Trust your son. He'll be okay."

Both Piper and Cole turned, hearing a muffled choking sound from the doorway. "Phoebe!" Cole stood up quickly.

Phoebe burst into laughter. She held her side as she spoke through her fit of giggles. "Sorry. I just never in a zillion years would have expected Piper to be accepting parental advice from Cole! I mean, I remember when she actively wanted your balls served to her on a platter!" Phoebe couldn't stop laughing, loving the sense of camaraderie she felt empathically between Cole and Piper.

"Oh, give it up, lady. You're gonna wake up Reilly!" Piper hissed lowly, seeing the baby start to wriggle around.

Phoebe stopped laughing but still looked at them with a huge grin. "So, what are you two doing in here anyway? Stalking a sleeping baby?"

"I heard a noise and shimmered in with a fireball. I thought it was a demon attack. Turns out it was just a demon/witch/white lighter/elder mix instead. But when I put out the fireball, he started to scream, so I re lit it, and he was happy then."

"Aw, that's so sweet! Just like Chris used to do, remember Piper?"

"Yeah, she just told me so, actually. Anyway, then Piper came in with that bottle of milk, and we just started talking."

Phoebe started to say something then sniffed delicately and crinkled her nose. "Someone better change him, I do believe that odor comes from short stuff there."

Piper laughed as Cole immediately passed her the baby. "Aw, c'mon, Cole, you don't want the honor?" She grinned at his violent head shake. Piper efficiently disposed to the dirty diaper, and replaced it with a fresh one, keeping up a litany of "what a good little man…that feels better now, huh…you're such a sweetheart, yes, you are."

"He really is a gorgeous baby. I can't believe he's so big and healthy. I wonder how those boys did this?" Phoebe remarked, gazing at Reilly.

"Hey, it wasn't just Wyatt and Chris. Phyra helped them too. Don't forget about her." Cole broke in. Phoebe and Piper stared at him. It wasn't a secret that Cole had a rocky relationship at best with Paige and both of her daughters. "What? The little brats are starting to grow on me, all right?"

"Oh, I'm so happy. I can die at peace now." Paige's sarcastic voice rang through the hall. Phyra was standing beside her, clad in a tank top and green pajama pants decorated with crowns bearing the words: 'You are not worthy…so kiss my royal butt.'

"Look, I just heard what you said Auntie Phoebe, about wanting to know how we did it. I can show you, if you want. Wy showed my how to project a memory with a really simple spell." Phyra offered shyly.

"Honey, we'd love to see." Phoebe answered simply.

"Umm, okay, here goes…

'Show them that which is in my past, Only the time focused in my mind.' "

As Phyra finished speaking, a large square of while, like a movie screen, appeared on the wall in place of the window. The lights automatically dimmed, and a glittery light flicked across the screen as it began to form a picture.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

_(Earlier That Evening)_

"Okay, Wy, you and Phy stand in those two corners, and I'll take this one. We've got the candles lit, in a circle around the ashes in the center.

"Chris, don't forget the blood." Phyra reminded him. With a nod, Chris cut his finger and squeezed out six drops of blood.

"Okay, we read the spell on three, then you throw the potion, Phy. Ready? One…two…three."

'_Keeper of Eternal light,_

_Fix the wrong and make it right._

_Bring us he, who's soul contains_

_In the ashes, begot through pains._

_What came to past, bring anew to life._

_We want the son, but not the wife.'_

Phyra threw the potion and as it hit the ashes, plumes of smoke filled the attic until no one could see. A huge clap of thunder sounded and the candles blew out, plunging the attic into complete darkness.

Chris coughed, smoke filling his lungs. "Wy? Phy? Are you okay? Can either of you see?"

"No! It's too smoky, I can't see anything!" Phyra yelled out.

Glittering sparkles started to form in the center of the triquetra. Wind filled the attic, and the smoke slowly started to clear. An eerie moan began to whine through the attic.

"Chris? Was this supposed to happen?" Phyra yelled over the moaning.

"How should I know? Just don't move! The Triquetra should keep us safe if this goes bad!"

"You didn't mention anything going bad when you dragged us into this, bro!" Wyatt yelled.

"Dragged you? You volunteered, you idiot!"

"GUYS!" Phyra screamed. "Look!" She pointed to the center of the triquetra.

Reilly stood in the center, staring at Chris in disbelief. "Dad? You…did this? For me?"

"No, Rei. I did this for _us._ Well, they helped." Chris responded with a quick nod at Wyatt and Phyra.

"Thanks, dad." Reilly said simply. He turned to face Wyatt and Phyra. "I'm glad you didn't give up on me."

"We never will again, I promise." Wyatt answered solemnly.

Reilly grinned, a huge dimpled expression of pure happiness. He turned again to Chris and took three steps forward until he stood a few inches away. He stared for a second, then took one more step forward, grabbing Chris in a strong hug. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Reilly. I always will." Chris said fervently, squeezing Reilly as tightly as he could.

Reilly reluctantly stepped back into the center of the triquetra. "Well, I should be going, now, I guess. See you guys in about thirteen years." Reilly said with a sad smile.

"We can't wait." Phyra answered happily with a small wave. Reilly disappeared in a wash of gold and white orbs. Immediately after they dissolved, another much tinier set of orbs formed, leaving behind a tiny red face infant, about the size of a football.

"Wow…look how tiny he is!" Phyra breathed in amazement.

"Wyatt! He's not crying!" Chris yelled, running to where the baby lay. He quickly laid in hands over Reilly, a golden glow coming from them. "It's not enough! Wy! Help me!" Chris screamed, his brow crinkled in concentration.

Wyatt instantly was at his side, dropping to his knees beside Chris, adding his own healing powers.

"It's not enough. We need Dad!" Chris yelled. Phyra knelt beside them, holding her own hands out. "Phyra! What are you doing? You can't heal, so GO GET DAD!" Chris pulled his hands away for a second to point.

Wyatt stopped also, yelling for Leo. "WAIT! Wy…_look!_" Chris gasped, staring at Phyra's hands.

Wyatt sat back in shock as he stared at the neon green light coming from Phyra's hands. Reilly began to cry angrily, and as Phyra continued, started to grow. When Reilly was the same size as Phiona, Phyra removed her hands.

"Phy…thank you. I don't know how you did that, but thank you." Chris whispered shakily.

Phyra didn't answer, just sat down hard, suck in large, deep breaths.

"Phyra? Are you okay?" Wyatt asked, concerned as her skin turned a pasty yellowish color.

She nodded groggily. "Just…a little…light-headed." Abruptly, her head tilted back, and she began to fall.

"Pillow!" Wyatt called, orbing it under her head just as it hit the floor.

"Phy! Damn it!" Chris yelled, setting the baby down from where he'd picked him up.

"No, it's okay. I got it. She's okay. Whatever that power is, it just took a ton out of her. She just passed out." Wyatt answered quickly, his hands already over her head, healing her.

Phyra opened her eyes, seeing Wyatt over her. "Damn, what demon was driving that semi that hit me?" She grinned at her cousins' laughter.

"Listen…thanks, you guys. I know…"

"Shut up, Chris! You're family. So is Reilly. You know we take care of our own." Phyra interrupted simply from her spot on the floor.

Wyatt grinned suddenly, looking up slightly. "Speaking of which…" He closed his eyes and muttered a spell under his breath. He opened them and grabbed Phyra's hand. "Come on, you're not going to want to miss this."

"Miss what?"

"Let's just say Peyton just got a power boost." With another grin, he orbed both of them to the landing of the stairs.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

_(Present Time)_

The screen went blank again, then with a loud CLICK, disappeared completely.

"Holy…" Phoebe breathed in awe, not realizing she hadn't finished her thought aloud.

"Phyra, honey, are you okay?" Piper asked.

Phyra waved off the concern. "Yeah, I'm fine. Wy healed me. I was just a little dizzy anyway."

"What the heck was that green light?" Paige asked nervously.

"I don't know. You want me to check the book?" Phoebe questioned helpfully.

"No, it won't say anything about it. She's not a demon for God's Sake, Phoebe!" Piper broke in exasperatedly.

"You don't…" Cole started.

"Well, geez, Piper, she was just trying to help" Paige interrupted.

"Oh, C'mon, Paige, do you really think the book is going to help?"

"I can…" Cole started again.

"Of course not, but it's at least an idea."

"Well, excuse me for trying! Do either of you have a better plan?" Phoebe demanded hotly.

"Yeah, the elders could tell us, maybe." Paige answered.

"I KNOW WHAT THE POWER IS!" Cole bellowed.

"God, Cole, you don't have to yell. You could have just said so." Phoebe said blithely.

Phyra started giggling as Piper rocked Reilly, trying to comfort him after Cole's roar. Cole just glared at Phoebe in disgust.

"What did Chris and Wyatt think was happening?" Cole asked Phyra.

"Chris didn't…"

"Chris didn't what? Geez, what are you guys doing? It's 4 am and you're having a pajama party with my baby?" Chris asked after hearing his name and orbing in.

"Chris! Hey, sweetie, when did you get back?" Piper rushed over to him, stretch up to kiss his cheek.

"About a minute ago, actually." He reached for Reilly. Piper handed him over with a smile as he watched Chris cuddle him close to his chest. "Now, seriously. What didn't I do?" he asked again.

"I showed them what happened earlier. We were just trying to figure out the green light thingee. Cole said he knows, but wanted to know what you guys said first. I told him you hadn't said anything. Wyatt said it might be an enhancement of my healing power mixed with my elemental power, but if it was, he hadn't ever heard of it."

Cole grinned. "God, I'm been waiting years to be able to say this." He cleared his throat theatrically. "Wyatt was wrong."

Phyra played along and gasped loudly. Cole laughed his thanks at her.

"Your power is actually a defensive one. It's really rare. Actually, I've only seen it once. It basically will age someone until they die." At Chris' protective gasp, he continued quickly. "Let me rephrase that. It will age a full blooded demon until they die. With human blood, it will simply speed up the growth process. As soon as she moves her hands, the growth rate returns to normal."

"How do you know that?" Wyatt asked from the doorway.

"Because, the witch that had it, tried to use it on both me and another demon. He was killed. I, however just gained a few years age."

"Cool, " Phyra breathed. "But wait, does that mean I can't heal like all the other white lighters? I want to be able to help if we get attacked!"

"I don't know." Cole answered simply.

"I assume that you'll be able to will which type of healing you use. Remember, your power come from your emotions, and when you were saving Reilly, you desperately need him to grow, so he'd be healthy. I'm sure that's why you healed this way." Leo answered calmly, hearing Cole's explanation. "Tell you what…I need to get some sleep right now, but as soon as I wake up, I'll go 'Up There' and check with the elders to be sure, okay?"

"Thanks, Uncle Leo." Phyra ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." Leo returned her hug. "Why don't we all just try and get some sleep, all right?"

"Hey, Chris, listen, what don't you leave Reilly here. You can go get some sleep, and he'll be taken care of. I don't need a lot of sleep." Cole offered. They all knew that due to Cole's demon half, he could survive on only a few hours sleep.

"Thanks, but I really want to be with him right now, okay? If you wouldn't mind though, I could use your help tomorrow. I'm working at Yummies, and can't get out of it. Normally, I'd ask one of the girls, but for now I'd feel a lot better with an adult that carries lots of fire power." Chris didn't register the same shock at the offer that Wyatt and Leo were dealing with. Empathically, he knew Cole just wanted help, and that he truly enjoyed being around Reilly.

"Sure, no problem." Cole answered easily.

"Thanks. Good night everyone. Thanks again for keeping him." Chris orbed back to his house.

"Okay, bedtime for me too. See y'all tomorrow." Wyatt said with a sleepy yawn before orbing away.

A chorus of good nights rang out as the lights slowly blinked out, leaving the house in total darknes.


	18. Thirst for Revenge

"Yo! Caroline, order up!" Chris reminded their best waitress. So far, it had been a busy night at Yummies, and Chris' late night was beginning to show in his short temper.

"I know, Chris!" Caroline sighed angrily. "Geez, I do have other tables, you know. What is with you tonight? You've been crabbier than Wyatt during tax season."

"Yeah, sorry, Caro. Really late night last night. I was up all night with Reilly."

"Reilly? What is, he another of your cousins?" Caroline asked with a smile.

"No. He's actually my son."

Caroline dropped the glass of wine she's just poured for table six. "YOUR WHAT?"

"My son. Look, it's a long, complicated story, alright?"

"Magical?" she asked softly.

Chris sent her his trademark grin. "What? There was any doubts?"

With a toss of her red, curly hair, she grabbed the order and loaded it onto a huge serving tray. "I'll be back for details!" She warned, as she swung through the door to the dining room.

Chris turned back to his cooking station with a grin. Not for the first time, he was glad he and Wyatt made a point of hiring mostly magical staff to work at Yummies. It made things difficult occasionally, but overall worked out wonderfully. It was a policy they'd adopted after being open only a week. As the sons of the eldest Charmed One, they were constantly on demon radar. On the fifth day of business a group of dark lighters had black orbed in. Naturally, they did it in the kitchens, as evil was just as wary of exposing magic as good. Chris easily vanquished the group, but not before the entire staff had seen it happen. One by one, they quit, leaving the restaurant with no employees, except one- Caroline.

After speaking with her in detail, they had learned that while she had no active power, she was a practicing Wiccan, and fully believed in the supernatural. Through her, they had spread word that Yummies welcomed the offbeat employee. The main requirement was an open mind, and anything else could be taught.

At last count, Yummies currently employed six Wiccans, including Caroline, without active powers, a Soothsayer, an empath, a fire starter, two telekinetics, a trio of brothers whom were gifted shapeshifters, and a snotty seventeen-year-old conjurer.

Each employee offered their own talents to the blend that made Yummies so successful. The empath was their hostess, Jewel. She used her talents to suit the customers' moods to a table setting. For example, if they were bored, she seated them in the ballroom where there was a band or comedian every night. If they were tired or just having a bad day, she seated them in the ultra-plush fireplace lounge. Families were seated in the "Caboose", a kid-friendly room with a train motif and a working model train that circled the room every four minutes. Singles and other young adults were seated in the bar room where they could mingle freely. Together the four rooms created an atmosphere that everyone felt comfortable in.

Mark, Chris' head sous-chef was the fire starter. He and Wyatt had cooked up an elaborate charade that allowed him to openly use his fire power in public. Every Friday night, Mark created a literal BARbecue. He set the bartop on fire, and used it as a cooking surface. Since Wyatt has cast an anti-burn spell on the bar, it never burned. What was true magic appeared to the human eye as an elaborate special effect.

Chris yawned, turning back to his Lemon Crusted chicken with honey pecan rice. As much as every employee knew that Chris and Wyatt were magical prodigies, they also knew that pure magic also occurred every time Chris Halliwell picked up a saucepan. Each and every item on Yummies' extensive, twelve page menu was created by Chris. His brilliance combined with Wyatt's sharp business sense had struck pure gold. In less than eighteen months, Yummies had gone from being a local hole in the wall, to an international phenomenon!

Chris looked up at the sounds of orbing.

"Hey, cuz. You need any help?" Peyton asked quickly.

Chris grinned, recognizing the look on her face. "Sure, you can start rinsing plates if you want." Peyton crinkled her nose, but headed to the sink. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're going to do dishes? Alright, who'd you piss off, Pey?"

"PEYTON!" Wyatt's voice roared through the kitchen as his orbs touched down. He wore jeans and a T-shirt as usual, but had an ill-fitting ball cap tucked onto his head.

"Oh, crap." Peyton whispered, shifting to be partly behind Chris.

"Oh crap? Oh, _CRAP_? That's all you can say? Peyton, look at this!" Wyatt angrily yanked his cap off.

Chris immediately started laughing. Wyatt's normally groomed to perfection hair was waves of blue, green, red and purple, and stuck out in all directions. He coughed, trying unsuccessfully to stop at Wyatt's angry glare. "P…prank or sp…spell gone wrong?" He asked, choking on his laughter.

Peyton sighed. "A spell. I'm sorry, Wyatt. I didn't mean to do it!"

"Don't apologize, just fix it! Damn it, I've got a breakfast meeting tomorrow with the developer for our Vegas branch. I can't do that looking like a refugee from clown college!" Wyatt ranted.

"I don't know how I did it! If I did, I would have already fixed it!" Peyton cried out.

"Okay, okay. Everyone calm down. Pey, try to think. What spell did you use?"

"I was trying to change my orbs."

"Why? Please tell me you weren't planning on going undercover as a dark lighter." Chris went pale at the thought.

"No, of course not. I'm not stupid, Chris! I just…wanted to be special, I guess. Future you had really cool gold orbs. So, I thought I could make some purple orbs for me. Just to stand out."

"What, being part of our personal circus isn't enough for you?" Wyatt snorted.

"Shut up, Wyatt! You don't know anything about being the average witch in a family of over achievers because you've always been the Twice Blessed Witch. You walk into any room with another magical creature, and they automatically know who you are, and respect you. And now, Phyra's turning out to be the same as you. Powerful beyond belief! So, I just figured, if I can't be powerful, then I'll just make myself different." Peyton shot back defiantly.

"Average? Pey, sweetie, did you really just call yourself average?" Chris flicked off the stove top and knelt down in front of her.

"It's true! Chris, all I do is control water. Big deal! So I can create a waterfall. Yippy Skippy."Her voice was glum. "Phy has the cool fire power, plus she can move things by blowing on them, and now she can heal or kill by aging people. Not to mention the connection she's got with you guys! C'mon, Chris, I'm older than she is, and I can't even heal yet!"

"Pey, you heard Phy's future self- you'll get them all soon." Wyatt insisted.

"When? In ten years when I'm too old to appreciate them?"

"Hey! That would only make you 25, Pey. I'm 24- not old at all." Chris protested.

"Whatever. It doesn't change that I still can't control the powers I already have. I'm part white lighter, but I can't sense, can't heal. Geez, I haven't even met an elder other than Uncle Leo."

Chris and Wyatt snorted in unison. Both had met more elders than they cared to think about. "Trust me, Pey. You aren't missing anything there." Wyatt announced dryly.

"Look, Pey, you're probably right. You should be able to heal and sense by now. Have you tried?" Chris asked reasonably.

"How can I? I can't heal myself, no white lighter can. And no one else ever let's me try. They always call you guys or Uncle Leo. Besides, I don't know how."

Chris and Wyatt exchanged a look. "Well, let's find out, then, shall we?" Chris asked picking up a large kitchen knife. "Just concentrate on making it better, ok, Peyton?" Chris told her in a quiet, serious voice that automatically gained attention.

"Making what b…CHRIS!" Peyton yelled as Chris plunged the knife deep into his side.

"Peyton…you heard him. Try to heal." Wyatt urged.

"But…but I know if I can… I don't know how."

"Just try, Pey. If you can't do it, I will, but only if you try first." Wyatt's voice was calm. After 26 years of fighting demons and helping to heal the families various injuries, he'd created quite an eye for them. While Chris' self inflicted wound looked nasty and bled like hell, it was really a fairly innocent injury. He knew, due to their link, that Chris was purposely keeping his eyes closed, pretending to be unconscious.

"O..Okay." Peyton shakily knelt beside Chris. "Come on, Chris. I have to heal you. You've gotta help me fix Wy's hair. Aunt Piper will blow me up if you die, and Wy has to go to your funeral with rainbow hair!" During her litany, she'd laid her hands over his stomach. She was so busy talking she didn't notice the healing glow under her hands. "Besides, seriously Chris…I don't care if I can heal or not. You stabbed yourself. Have you ever considered that you need therapy. I mean, how crazy are you? I swear if you live, I'm taking you to the first magical shrink I can find. Maybe there's one in the Book of Sha…"

"PEYTON! Shut up and look!" Wyatt interrupted in exasperation.

Peyton looked and shrieked happily. "Oh my God! I did it! I healed!" She hopped up and danced in a small circle. Chris smiled as he watched from the floor.

"See…I guess you're not so average after all, kid." Wyatt spoke quietly.

"I know. Look, I'm sorry, okay, Wy? I was just mad. I was at school, and there's this boy…Rocky. He's a telekinetic shape shifter, and he's always been really nice and cool. He asked me out last week, but I was still grounded, so I told him that I'd go this week. Then today he just went all…ooky. He wanted me to show him my powers. So I did, I moved the water from the pond to the yard, then froze it, and put it back. Then I orbed out, and came back in behind him. Then this other kid, Donnie, comes over and he's like, 'hey is that it? My parents said you people were all-powerful.' So I said I hadn't gotten all my powers yet, but that if he wanted to see powers, I'd be glad to introduce you guys to him. Then Rocky and Donnie both laughed at me and Rocky said that since witch/white lighters aren't forbidden anymore, orbing is nothing special, and that any elemental can control water. Then he said not to bother calling him again until I got some _real_ powers. Then they left and when they were walking away, Rocky said I must've been adopted, cuz even my baby sister has more powers than I do. Then Donnie said that maybe…maybe Rocky should go ask her out!" Peyton was crying by the time she was finished.

"Chris- everyone is gone, so I just locked up. Do you want me to start on the plates, or start with the dining rooms? Oh, sorry! Did I interrupt?" Caroline stopped in the doorway.

"Uh, actually, Caro, we had a situation arise here. Can you, Mark and Robbie handle the clean up?" Chris asked while cuddling Peyton close in a hug.

"Sure, that is, as long as my bosses' will approve my overtime." She teased playfully.

Chris laughed. "You'll have to talk to the money man here. Meet us at the Manor, Wy." Without another word, he orbed Peyton and himself away.

Caroline turned to Wyatt and stared. "Wow…nice hair, boss man."

Wyatt's blue gaze turned stormy. "Don't push it, Carol. Take all the OT you need. Seriously, I don't know what we'd do without you. Thanks!" Wyatt orbed out.

An invisible demon stepped out of the shadows and into Caroline's body. "Oh no, Wyatt. Thank you." Caroline's eyes flashed bright red before turning back to blue again.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"My spell is right here. It was supposed to change orbs though, not hair!" Peyton handed Chair a piece of crumpled notepaper.

"'Magic not strong

Right the wrong

My orbs to distant places too

Make them red or purple or navy blue.' Pey, this shouldn't have done anything to Wyatt. Did you use a potion to go with it?" Chris asked quickly. He wanted to fix Wyatt's hair so they could get back to Pey's problems at Magic School.

"No, I just said the spell, then burned it on the silver plate."

"Damn! I was using that plate last night. The spell called for strands of hair. One must have been left of the plate, and that's what turned my hair." Wyatt muttered.

"So it wasn't all my fault?" Peyton asked hopefully.

"No, not totally." Chris answered absently. "Ok, this should work. You two hold hands and read this spell worded backwards, then put a piece of your hair, Wy, and burn the spell on it."

Wyatt looked skeptical, but still grabbed Pey's hand and chanted with her. "Blue navy or purple red them make. Too places distant orbs my. Wrong the Right. Strong not Magic." As they burned the paper, Peyton sighed happily in relief as Wyatt's hair turned back to blond.

"Yes! Thanks, Chris!" She hugged him tightly and started to run out of the attic. Both Wyatt and Chris stopped her.

"We need to talk, Pey. About the Magic School thing." Wyatt said seriously.

"Why? I was stupid to trust him, I know that. I shouldn't have let one dumb boy make me feel bad."

"True, but I'm a little more concerned with how interested those two are in yours and Phy's powers. " Chris added.

"Oh come on! They just like us. Or did anyway. You don't have to worry. It's not like either of us are going to have sex with them."

Both Wyatt and Chris swallowed hard and tried hard not to think about that. "It's not…sex…we're worried about. It's demons. I mean, all of a sudden, Rocky turns stupid, and this other kid shows up at the exact same time as the Source wants to kill us all? It's a little convenient."

"They're not demons. They're students. Geez, Chris, you're getting paranoid."

"Maybe I am, but I still want to check with dad on this. He's a teacher there, he'll know what's going on with them, if they're legit or not."

Peyton huffed and sighed dramatically. "Fine. I'll ask him about it tomorrow."

"We'll all go ask right now." Wyatt and Chris said in unison.

Peyton rolled her eyes, but followed them out of the attic.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Dad! Dad!" Chris strode through the hallway, his long legs eating the large expanse easily.

"Chris! What is it?" Leo's voice called from behind his and Piper's door.

Chris opened the door urgently. "Dad, we need info on…Oh My God!" He quickly backed up, into an equally stunned and horrified Wyatt.

A few moments later, Leo orbed in front of the door, wearing only a pair of jeans and an unbuttoned, opened shirt. "Chris, damn it, you're twenty four years old. Haven't you learned yet that 'what is it' isn't the same as 'come in'?"

"Dad. Please, no lecture. After what I just saw, I think it's safe to say I've suffered enough. I'm sorry." Chris rose his voice enough to be heard through the door. "Sorry, mom!"

"Oh, EW! You walked in on your parents. Dude, that's nasty." Peyton exclaimed with a grimace.

Leo sighed heavily. "What's going on guys?"

"Pey had a run in with a couple of punk kids at Magic School today. It sounds fishy. Do you know either Rocky or Donnie?" Wyatt briefly explained.

Leo's face visibly darkened. "You had a run in with them today, Pey?"

"Yeah. But, really, it's no big deal, Uncle Leo. Wyatt and Chris are just getting paranoid."

"No, they're not. Both Rocky & Donnie were expelled from Magic School yesterday. I got a memo about it today. They were using black magic."

"But…how could they have gotten in today then?" Chris was concerned, and felt the goosebumps rise on his arms.

"I have no idea. Security was instructed to magically protect the school from them."

"Rocky is a shapeshifter. He probably pretended to be someone else." Peyton input.

"Plus, Pey said he's telekinetic, he might have combined his powers to change the other kid too." Wyatt added thoughtfully.

"What happened that concerned you guys so much?" Leo was still a little confused.

"Rocky acted like he was interested in Pey, then intentionally started picking on her powers, and then mentioned Phy. The old divide and conquer method came to mind." Chris' voice was dark and cynical.

"But that's crazy! Phyra is only thirteen, besides, she already has a boyfriend." Leo stated, baffled.

"Phy doesn't have a boyfriend, Uncle Leo. Who told you that?" Peyton laughed.

"Yeah, she does. That friend of hers, Nick, I think? They one she went to the movies with tonight."

"Nick? Are you sure it was Nick, Uncle Leo?"

"Yeah, I've met him a few times. It was him, why?"

"That's not possible. Ricky and his family are off on a vacation to Australia for a month. He won't be back for two more weeks." Peyton's face suddenly went pale. "Sense for her Chris!"

Both Chris and Wyatt immediately closed their eyes, sensing for Phyra. After a few tense seconds, Chris reluctantly opened his eyes. In a low, gravelly voice he spoke. "Round everyone up. Phyra's not on our radar anymore. I think she's been kidnapped. And if my guess is right, it's the Source that has her."


	19. The Greatest of All Bonds

Paige ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "Anything, you guys?" It was about the hundredth time the question had been asked.

Wyatt answered without opening his eyes. "Nothing."

Paige threw down the crystal she'd been scrying with. "This is useless! We're never going to find her like this. We know who has her, so why can't I just go get her?" Her voice was stressed and full of tension.

"Because whatever we do, we have to do it together, Paige. You know that. We're stronger together than we are apart." Phoebe whispered as she pulled her little sister into a hug.

"But she's only thirteen, Pheebs. She's not prepared to face this."

"She was kidnapped before, sweetie. This time, she has even stronger powers to protect herself with." Piper pointed out from her perch in front of the Book of Shadows.

"But it wasn't by the Source last time, Piper! I mean, we barely defeated the last Source using the ancestor's spell. If it hadn't been for Cole, we wouldn't have been able to do even that much, because Phoebe would have been dead! Phyra is not as strong as the Charmed Ones, no matter how powerful she may be."

"Aunt Paige…stop. Phy will be okay, I feel it." Chris opened his eyes and gazed directly at her.

"You can sense her?" Her head popped up expectantly.

"No, not really. Not in the typical white lighter way, anyway. It's just something I know. It's something I feel deep down from within. I just…know it."

"You know what, Chris? I don't want to hear about your ooky spooky psychic crap right now! I want my daughter!" Jax yelled, his body lined in visible fury.

"Jax, stop it! This isn't helping. Let's just try to think of a plan." Leo grabbed Jax by the arms, pulling him away from Chris.

Jax stopped and scrubbed a hand along his eyes, wiping away the gathered tears. "Christ, I'm sorry. Chris, I didn't…"

Chris waved off the apology. "Don't worry about it. I know my gut feeling isn't an exact science. I know it's not the same as being able to sense for her. I just thought it might…" His voice trailed off as a weird feeling swept over him.

"Whoa! Chris, did you feel that?" Wyatt burst out.

"You felt it too? That tingly burning? Do you think its Phy?"

"What else can it be? Why else would both of us feel it?" Wyatt reasoned aloud.

"But what does that mean? Why would she send you guys blasts of heat? Why wouldn't she just talk to you telepathically?" Paige asked, wanting desperately to believe it was Phyra.

"She probably can't. The Source used to protect his lair from any telepathic thought. It was a way of keeping his demons under control. Without free thought, he kept complete control. It's still a magically protected lair. Most likely, she can't use her telepathy, so she's trying something else." Cole shimmered into the attic holding a burlap bag.

"It makes sense. At least she's still alive then. We know that much." Wyatt got to his feet and stood in front of the magical supplies cabinet.

"Yeah, but what we don't know if where, exactly, she is. After the last Source was vanquished, the Underworld got smarter about preserving and protecting his location." Leo spoke softly, the only one still concentrating on sensing for Phyra.

Chris finally noticed the bag in Cole's hand. He motioned to it. "What's in the bag, Cole?"

"Murdock root, coriander, lavender and the feather of a Raven."

"And that's supposed to do what, exactly?"

"What…is Phyra really the only one who pays attention in Potions 101? It's the missing ingredients for a blood to blood spell." Cole retorted shortly.

"How do _you_ know that potion?" Paige snapped suspiciously.

"Hey! If you don't want to use it, then don't! If you still think I'm a demon bent on killing you all, then I can't change that! But whether you want to trust me or not, this potion is the only prayer you've got of surprising the Source. And you'll need the element of surprise." Cole's voice rose angrily at the obvious distrust in Paige's voice.

"You said missing ingredients- so what else do you need?" Wyatt broke the uneasy silence.

"Not much, just elkhorn powder, apple juice and Peyton."

"Peyton? What do you mean, Peyton?" Jax demanded.

"Peyton will need to be the one to mix it, and to drink it."

"No! Absolutely not! I'm not sacrificing one daughter for another. I'll do it." Jax stated emphatically.

"You can't. You need the one with the strongest link to Phyra to use the potion. That's not you." Cole's answer was simple.

"Then, Chris or Wyatt should do it. They have the telepathic link with her." Jax desperately offered.

"I know you don't want both of your daughters in danger. But trust me, the strongest bond is the one between siblings." At Jax's disbelieving look, Cole continued with a snort. "Okay, don't trust me. Instead, trust what you see right in front of you. Who is the closest person to Wyatt? It's not Piper or Leo. It's not Abby or any of his cousins. His closest link is Chris- his brother. And if that example isn't enough, then look at your wife! Paige didn't even know her sisters, yet their bond called her to them when Prue died. Their bond as sisters has created the magical holy trinity. " Cole blew out his breath slowly. "Like it or not, Peyton has to do the potion. She's the only one who can."

"So what happens after she takes the potion, Cole? We send her along to the Underworld? What good will that do us to have both of them lost?" Paige sniffed a little, still wary of the idea.

"The potion will pull Peyton to Phyra. But, if she's touching someone, it should bring that person with her, like it does when you orb."

"Should? Cole, I can't risk her on a should." Paige announced morosely.

"Wait!" Chris shot to his feet, rushing to the Book of Shadows. He flipped through the pages, quickly search for a spell. "Aha! Got it…. Magical GPS! Look, I can create a spell that will broadcast Pey's position on a screen here in the attic. It is undetected by magical protective shields. That way, if Pey gets sucked down by herself, we'll be able to go find her still."

"Magical GPS? Chris, are you sure about this?" Piper asked quietly.

"Mom, it's safe, I promise. We'll try to go with her anyway, but if we can't, then this is the best way to get Phy back safely."

"Okay, so if this works, how does Peyton get Phyra out? I don't want both my girls trapped in the Underworld with the Source and no way out!" Jax's voice broke.

"Daddy…I want to do this. Please let me do this for Phy. Let me be a good big sister. Let me save her." Peyton's voice was full with emotion and laced with steel conviction like her mother.

"Peyton, honey, I can't let you do this if you're going to be unprepared That won't help Phyra. If the Source captures you too, then we'll be in even bigger trouble. Honey, I'm sorry, but right now you just don't have enough powers to take on the Source." Paige answered after a long pause.

"Mom, we can't just wait until I get more powers! I'm the only one the potion will work on. So that means, I'm the only one who can save Phyra!"

"We need to figure out a way to do this without involving you, Peyton. No! That's final!" Paige halted Peyton's protests. "Let's just…get to work on Plan B."

"Aunt Paige, there is no Plan B. Either Peyton goes, or Phyra's screwed." Wyatt quietly stated what the rest of them were thinking.

"No! Just…no. Wyatt, you're suggesting that I send my fifteen-year-old daughter to face down the Source of all evil with only her water control and orbing to fight with. Wyatt- he lives in Hell, there's not a whole lot of water there!"

"Aunt Paige, what else do you want us to do? It's the only shot we've got! Using Pey & Phy's connection makes sense. It's going to be the only way we can get to Phyra without the Source knowing we're coming. You know as well as I do, he'll have all the entrances to his lair blocked off to everything but demons!"

"So we trap some demons and make them get us in!" Paige snapped.

"It won't work Paige. The demons wouldn't bring you. The Source would kill them if they did." Cole broke in.

"Yeah, well, we'll kill them if they don't!"

"Maybe so, but the Source will draw it out- torture them for weeks if he wants. If you vanquish them, at least it's quick. You won't convince them, Paige."

"Well, we have to at least try!"

"No, we don't actually. I've got an idea." Chris spoke suddenly. He started flipping through the book again, keeping a finger on the GPS spell.

"What?" Leo asked with a hint of trepidation.

"It will give Pey the power boost she needs, without losing the connection to Phy."

"What is it?" Piper chimed in.

"It's not that dangerous…"

"What is it?" Phoebe and Cole asked together.

"And we've done it before…"

"What?" Paige and Jax half-yelled in unison.

"So it's not as if we wouldn't know what to expect."

"WHAT IS IT!" The entire family roared at Chris in perfect harmony.

Chris looked up and blinked at his family in surprise. "Hmm…tense much? I'm talking about this." He turned the book to face his family and pointed to the page entitled "Switching Powers'.

"Power switching? Chris, that's pretty dangerous. Peyton would have to swap powers with a really high powered witch for her to have enough powers to survive the Source. She may not be able to handle them." Leo said nervously.

"She's a Halliwell, Dad. She can do it. Besides, if she takes my powers, then Chris can show her how to use them with his reflection." Wyatt spoke quickly picking up on Chris' thoughts.

"_YOUR POWERS?_ No, no. no… maybe mom and me could swap. Or Cole…he swapped with Phy before…" Peyton nervously backpedaled.

"Pey…no it has to be either me or Chris. And if you take Chris' powers them no one can show you how to use them."

"I don't want them Wy! I can't, you're the Twice Blessed Witch! I wasn't ever meant to have power like that!"

"Pey, you're a Halliwell. That alone has prepared you to control and corral vast amounts of magic and highly concentrated powers. It doesn't matter what you have now. Your destiny as a Halliwell signifies that you will eventually have even stronger powers than you do now." Chris reasoned.

"But I don't have them now!"

"Pey…"

She cut Wyatt off. "No! I know you guys don't get it, but I'm scared okay? I know I said I wanted more powers, but I changed my mind."

"Peyton, honey, listen. You are the only chance Phy's got."

"No, that's not true, Chris! Look what you did for Reilly. You could do that again, if you had to!"

"I can't do it again, Pey. The spell has a one time only clause. Besides, even if I could, who knows how that could screw up other things…things like you, or your parents. I was willing to do it for Reilly, because the odds were if it backfired, it would only affect me, but not in this case. I can't do it."

"But that sucks! It's not fair! I know I said I wanted more powers, but I meant one or two of my own. You know, like's Mom's orb explosions or a cool TK power, maybe even telepathy. I never wanted your powers Wy!"

"I know that Pey. And, I know it's not fair. You shouldn't have to make a sacrifice to save your sister. But few things in our lives ever are fair. It wasn't fair to mom and Aunt Phoebe to lose a sister when Aunt Prue died. It's not fair that Mom and Dad have been torn apart by magic dozens of times. It wasn't fair when Patrick got killed. It certainly wasn't fair when Reilly killed himself and Maya. Our lives are filled with more pain and troubles than most humans will ever experience. But we all know how great is it to save an innocent. Trust me, Pey, saving family is even better. It's worth all of the pain we go through to have these gifts. Trust us, Pey, we won't let anything happen to you." Wyatt's voice was husky and gruff with sincerity.

Peyton's gaze drifted back and forth between the tall, strong shouldered brothers. For two strong, stubborn men, they both had souls as deep and any ocean and hearts so big it was astonishing that they fit in their chests. She knew, without any doubts, that for both of them, family wasn't just the most important thing. It was the only thing that mattered. She swallowed nervously, and licked her dry lips. She wouldn't let them or Phyra down.

"Okay. So, tell me how we do this."


	20. Power Struggles

"Okay, everyone out, unless you all want different power too." Wyatt announced as Peyton stepped next to him beside the book. He waited until the family had left him and Peyton alone. "Okay, kiddo. We just read the spell, and then that's it."

Peyton nodded nervously. Wyatt stopped and pulled her into a hug. "It's going to work out fine, I promise. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Alright then. We have to say the spell together." At Peyton's nod, they started.

'What's mine is yours,

What's yours is mine.

Let our powers

Cross the line.

I offer up

This gift to share.

Switch our powers

Through the air.'

Instantly, white lights rose from each of them, and then settled into the opposite person. Seconds later, two dark lighters appeared.

"Shit! CHRIS!" Wyatt yelled. He raised his palm instinctively to throw an energy ball, but nothing happened. "Pey, quick! Put your hand palm up and focus on an energy ball!"

Peyton did, and a water ball appeared instead. She stared at Wyatt for a second.

"Uhh…that's new, but throw it!" He gasped, grabbing Excalibur to deflect the dark lighter arrows.

"Oh, yeah!" she yelled, throwing the water ball, hitting the nearest dark lighter, as the door swung open and Chris blasted the other one with an elder bolt.

"Whoa. You guys okay?" He asked staring at the wreckage of the attack.

"Yeah. Crap!" Peyton yelled in frustration as she moved her hand and a nearby lamp exploded.

"Wyatt, Chris? What's going on? What was that?" Piper walked in quickly expecting tons of demon ash. She looked at the broken lamp, then at Chris with a suspicious glare. "Chris? How did the lamp break?"

"What? How come I get accused of everything?" he asked in a fake-defensive tone.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you were the one who went through the manor, room by room, practicing elder bolts on any furniture you thought was ugly."

"Mom, give it up, already. I was seven years old!"

"Yeah, Piper, at least he was a kid. When you blew up Paige's red chair, you were an adult who'd already mastered your power. So what's your excuse?" Phoebe asked with a grin.

"I don't need an excuse. I'm the oldest." Piper answered primly, and then ruined the snotty tone with a huge grin. "But seriously, what happened to my lamp?"

"I blew it up. At least, I think I did. Sorry, Aunt Piper." Peyton said miserably.

"Oh, sweetie, its okay. You're just learning."

"Thanks, Aunt…Aah!" she screamed at Chris shot a low voltage energy ball at her. She threw up an arm, not sure what power she was calling on, just hoping something worked. It didn't and the energy ball stung her shoulder.

"Ow! Chris, I can't believe you did that! That hurt!" Peyton huffed, bringing up a hand to cup her stinging shoulder. Instead, she TK'd Wyatt into the wall. "Damn it! That's it! Wyatt, give me back my powers. I don't like yours!"

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Peyton, you've barely even tried. Let Chris and I explain it."

"No! I don't like this. I want to switch back." Suddenly, she gasped, and whirled on Chris. "You take that back! I am not a drama queen!"

Chris' jaw dropped slightly. "You heard that?" he asked incredulously. He turned to Wyatt, who was still on the floor. "Did you hear me?"

Wyatt nodded. "Must be the link between us was stretched to include her when we swapped powers."

"Yeah, so no more snotty comments, you jerk!" Peyton added hotly, still stung by the accusation.

"Pey, I wouldn't make any comment at all if you'd just try, and not be such a spoiled brat. Just work with me, okay?"

"Easy for you to say. I'm not the one slinging energy balls at you!"

"I just wanted to see what your instincts were. And it's a good thing I did. Pey, when you've got as many powers as we do, you have to focus on what power you're going to use. Otherwise, nothing will happen. And as far as slinging energy balls, I want you to throw them at me. But you have to learn how first. So, are you ready to try? Or do you just want to let Phy take her chances and swap back with Wyatt?"

Peyton's chin fell. For a few minutes, she'd forgotten about Phyra. "Okay, let's try. But is there someplace else that we don't have to worry about blasting all of Aunt Piper's furniture?"

Chris grinned. "Yeah, come on, Pey. I'm going to bring you 'Up There'. You won't be able to hurt anything except a few clouds." He turned to Wyatt. "Can you get all of the potion stuff together, and also the stuff for the GPS spell? Us, call for me, and we'll orb down. Are you still getting the heat blasts from Phy?"

"Yeah, must be her connection to us is magical as much as spiritual. But, yeah, I just got one."

"Okay, me too. If they stop, call for me immediately. I'm not sure if her blasts will reach Up There or not. If she stops, it means we need to get to her pronto. "At Wyatt's nod of agreement, Chris grabbed Peyton's hand and orbed out.

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"Pey, concentrate! Just focus on freezing the ball before it hits you."

"Ugh! Chris, we've been doing this _forever_! I'm never going to get this!"

Chris felt his temper snap. "Fine. Then we'll orb home and you can tell Aunt Paige that your sister is going to die. Not because you can't do it, but because it's _hard_."

Peyton knew tears had formed, but refused to cry. "Phyra can't die, Chris."

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Chris' voice was firm, with an edge. He didn't let the truth of his emotions show. In reality, he didn't blame her for feeling overwhelmed and scared. In any other circumstances, he'd give Peyton all the time she asked for, but time was the one thing they didn't have enough of.

Peyton sighed. "All right, throw the ball again."

Chris grinned and gently TK'd the soft ball at her. She blew out a steady breath then threw her hands up like she'd seen Piper, Wyatt and Chris all do thousands of times. When she failed again, she immediately repeated it, this time forcefully adding the word, "Stop!"

She jumped in her place and twirled in a little circle. "I did it Chris! Look, I froze it!"

"Great job! Okay, sweetheart. Now focus and send it as hard as you can back at me using the TK."

Peyton nodded and took a deep breath. She waved her right arm in a quick, sharp movement. The ball sailed back to Chris quickly.

"Whoa! Good arm. You're not so bad at this when you really try."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... okay, so let's try energy balls, ok? When I did it at the manor, it turned into a water ball."

"Well, actually, hon, that makes sense. You've had a oneness with water. It's a part of your spiritual base. Was the water ball as powerful as Wy's energy balls?"

"Yeah, I think so. They toasted that dark lighter anyway."

Chris considered that for a minute. "Well, I guess we'll go with a water ball defense then. Use what works, right? So, hit me with one. We'll test the water ball and the healing in one shot."

"But…but what if it kills you? I can't heal you if you croak, Chris. Not even Wyatt could."

Chris laughed at the look on her face. "I won't croak, Pey. Just aim for my leg or something."

"Alright. But if you do croak, I'm gonna make Wy show me that spell he taught Phy to show a memory. That way Aunt Piper can't kill me!"

"Mom wouldn't ever hurt you Pey."

"Hah! She made us go to school with hooves for feet. Trust me that was painful."

"Oh, quit whining. It was Magic School, and you and Patience had completely trashed the attic trying to conjure a pony. Now, quit stalling. Throw the water ball."

Peyton wrinkled her nose at Chris, then flipped her hand palm up and focused on a water ball. One formed, and she hurled it at Chris as hard as she could. She screamed as she noticed her aim was way off and it was inches from Chris' face. With a quick motion of her hands, the ball froze in the air. With another slow flick of her fingers, she moved the water ball until it was directly in front of his kneecap. With a final motion, she unfroze the ball, and it connected with a hissing sound on Chris' knee.

Chris sucked in a quick, pain-filled gasp. "Pey…"

"Coming!" She orbed to him, laying her palms over Chris' bleeding knee. She started to grin proudly as the familiar healing glow enveloped his knee.

"Awesome, Pey! That was perfect! You even added a couple of unexpected powers when things didn't as planned. That was great! Wy couldn't have done better."

Peyton snorted. "Don't go crazy, Chris. Wy's aim wouldn't have been so far off to start with."

"True, but that was more to do with that fact that he was drafted for the Major Leagues in pitching than it does with magic."

Peyton turned thoughtful. "Can we take a five minute break, Chris?"

"Yeah, but no more. We've still got a lot of work to do."

"Okay." Peyton grabbed a nearby bottle of water and took a long drink. "Hey, Chris?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Wy regrets not going to play pro ball?"

"He regrets having the choice taken away from him by something he couldn't control. No one could have predicted that he'd break his elbow in a car wreck."

"I never understood why Uncle Leo didn't just heal it."

"Because the police and the ER doctors had already seen the break. If we'd healed it then, people would have been suspicious. Besides, Mom doesn't really like the use of magic for magic's sake."

"Yeah, I know, but it was Wyatt's dream on the line."

Chris smiled. "Not really, hon. He was good at it, and it would have been an amazing opportunity for him to bring a lot of money to the family. But it was never his passion. Wy's passion is and always has been magic and taking care of the family. He loves being a witch and he adores Abby. His real dream was and still is to have a family of his own, and to be able to stop bad stuff from happening. Wyatt's happy, Pey. What brought this up, anyway?"

Peyton shrugged. "Just…he said a bunch of stuff about how it sucked to be magical. I guess I was just wondering if he…or you…ever wanted to be normal."

"We're not normal, Pey. We're witches- Halliwell witches, at that. Sure, it sucks sometimes, like now with what's going on with Phy, but on the other hand, we have the ability to go anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye. We can speak to and feel our loved ones even after they pass away. We can go back in time, and rewrite history. And we get to kick evil's ass every day. When you think about it, it beats any normal 9-5 shift any day."

"Yeah, at least our lives aren't boring, I guess."

"There is that." Chris stood up. "Okay, break's over. Let's get back to work."

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"Cole, where'd you put that Murdock root? Pey's gonna need it, and I want everything together."

"Wyatt, don't have a stroke. Relax its right behind you."

Wyatt turned and flushed a little. "Oh. Sorry."

Cole chuckled. "Getting anxious?"

"I just…want everything to be normal again."

"You mean you having your powers, and having Phyra back home?"

"Yeah. Losing both at the same time makes me feel…"

"Like you're naked in church?"

Wyatt snorted. "Something like that I guess."

"It's not like you're powerless, you know." Cole pointed out dryly.

"No, I know, but I'm use dot controlling all of the strong powers at once. Right now, I've only got one. I can't use it even."

"What do you mean, you can't use it? What's wrong?" Alarm flared in Cole's voice.

"Calm down. Nothing is wrong. I just…forgot to ask Pey how she uses her power." A dull red coloring crept up Wyatt's neck as he fought embarrassment.

"Don't you know?" Cole asked incredulously.

"Of course not! What, you think just cause I'm Twice Blessed, that I'm an all-knowing Super Witch? I don't know how to control other people's powers, only my own!"

"Great. Just great. So, basically, we've got me for protection of the entire family. Wonderful."

"Hey! Mom and the Aunts are here. They might be getting older, but they're still the Charmed Ones."

"True, but Paige's emotions are all over the place. Who knows if her powers are going to be 'on' or not? Then there's Jax, who's in the same boat as Paige. None of the girls have a strong defensive power other than Pey and Phy, and we obviously can't use their powers. Chris and Leo are both 'Up There'. That leaves just me. Peyton did get her healing power already, right? Chances are you're going to need to use it."

"Quit bitching, Cole. Besides, I'm not exactly helpless even without Pey's power. I've still got Excalibur you know."

Cole paused in his tirade. "Yeah, how'd that happen anyway?"

"I think it's become an extension of me, my essence that is. Pey and I switched power, not bodies. It makes sense that out personalities and destinies stay where our souls are. And since Excalibur is my destiny…" His voice trailed off, leaving Cole to draw his own conclusions.

Sole was silent for a few minutes. "Can you still feel Phyra?"

Wyatt grinned. "Yeah, the blasts are getting hotter and more painful. I think she's pissed we aren't there yet."

"She does have a fiery little temper, huh?

"Nah. Fiery _big_ temper." Wyatt chuckled. "Course, I guess all of us Halliwell's do on occasion."

"Wyatt! Behind you!" Cole yelled, seeing a duo of demons flame in. Wyatt whirled, settling into a crouched fight stance. One demon grinned widely, as he held an energy call in his palm threateningly.

"Stop!" the demon yelled, as he saw Cole's own energy ball waiting. "We have a message for the Thrice Blessed Witch."

"He's not here. Give me your message." Wyatt demanded in a growl.

"No! We have orders. Only Christopher...the murderous Thrice Blessed bastard." The skinny pointy faced female demon growled angrily.

"Hey! If you're going to swear about my brother, at least use the correct vocabulary! My parents were married when Chris was born. He's no bastard." Wyatt laughingly corrected the irate demon.

"Get him now, or we'll fry you, witch." The cocky demon called up a large fire ball.

"Extinguish those weapons, or Excalibur will take your heads as trophies." Wyatt growled menacingly, all laughter gone from his voice.

The anger in Wyatt's voice echoed through the attic. The original demon held back the second. "Get Christopher. Now." The demon held up a hand to prevent Wyatt from interrupting. "Listen to me. I am a messenger. My…boss has something you want returned. I have the authority to guarantee isn't safe return, but I can only speak to Christopher."

Wyatt held the demon's gaze steadily. "CHRIS!" He looked back at the demon. "You had better be for real." His voice was calm and cold as he issued the threat.

The demon looked up as orbs sounded. "I can assure you, no one will be harmed. Yet."


	21. Acing the Test

**A/N: Sorry for the shorter chapter this time, but I wanted to get something up ASAP. The next one will be longer, I promise!**

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"Damn! Demon!" Chris called, ready with a fire ball as his and Peyton's orbs cleared.

"No! Wait, Chris. They're messengers. From the Source." Cole warned quickly.

"Messengers? What, the Source is too afraid to face us himself?" Chris scoffed.

"You'll pay for that arrogance!" the female demon sneered.

"Not as much as you'll pay for taking my sister!" Peyton retorted coldly, feeling the power start to rise inside her.

"Our orders are to deliver the following message to only you, Christopher. You are correct that the Source has your cousin. However, she is not the Halliwell that he wants. You killed his daughter, and he will kill you for that. If you do not come to him within 12 hours, he will begin to take his revenge on your family, one by one. And he will start with the little witch that has been such a trial these last few hours." The calmer demon issued the ultimatum steadily.

"So where do I find him? His lair is protected from magic. If I could find it, I would have, and this conversation would be unnecessary." Chris' voice was quiet and solemn.

The male demon conjured a stone baton to his hand. "This baton will transport you to the outer ridge of the lair. I will await you there to escort you to the Source. Simply turn the top of the baton, and it will instantly transport you. You come alone. If anyone comes with you, we will consider it an act of defiance and Phyra will be killed instantly." The demon handed Chris the baton. "Remember, you have twelve hours only. Your clock is ticking." Without another word, the duo flamed out.

Peyton looked between Chris and Wyatt. "I don't like it. They're not telling the truth."

"I know, Pey. They're demons. It's pretty much their standard operating procedure." Chris mused aloud. "We have to do something though, and I like this better than sending you in by yourself."

"Chris, we can't trust them to keep their word. How do we know they won't just kill Phyra when you get there? And besides, you can't destroy the Source by yourself. He's too powerful." Wyatt interrupted.

"Wy, if I don't do this, there's a very real possibility that we'll lose them both." Chris glanced at Peyton, then back at Wyatt. "We didn't have any other options before, so I was willing to risk it. But now that we have another choice, hell no, I'm not risking our cousin."

Peyton stared in shock as she watched Wyatt and Cole nod grudgingly.

"Oh, HELL, no! You don't want to lose a cousin, Chris? Well, guess what, genius. Neither do we." Peyton focused steadily on the stone baton before flicking her hands at it. It shattered, the pieces falling out of Chris' hand. "Back to square one, now, huh?"

"God damn it, Peyton! You just destroyed the best chance we had of getting your sister back! If you want her dead, that was a great way to make sure it happened." Chris yelled in fury.

"Phy wouldn't want to come back if it meant you weren't here Chris." Peyton answered simply.

"Peyton, Phyra can die! So can you. Why don't you see that?"

"I do see it, Wy. I understand what can and may happen to one or both of us. I'm sure Phyra does too. But it doesn't matter. Let's face it. In the grand scheme of things, if someone in this room _has_ to die, no other option, then it's probably better that it's me…or Phyra. If it were you, Wy, or you, Chris, then not only does the family suffer, but all things good on earth. You're so powerful, that losing either of you would upset the balance between good and evil so radically, that evil would win. All the good that our mom's and the rest of us have done through the years would be washed away. It's just not an option to lose one of you."

"We aren't afraid of dying, Pey. Just of not doing anything to protect our family, and then having one of _you_ die." Wyatt answered stubbornly.

"It's everyone's job to protect this family and themselves, Wy. We might not be all powerful, but we aren't powerless. Remember? You told me that yourself. Why can't you guys see that we can help too? You don't have to do it all yourselves?"

Because, Peyton. We're older and more powerful. We've got seniority. End of discussion."

"Wrong, Wy. Right now, Chris is older and more powerful, not you. You might be older, but I'm more powerful. And Chris wouldn't ever use his powers against me. So, we go with the original plan." Peyton smirked at the look on Wyatt's face as the realization that she was right sunk in.

"You don't get to choose, Munchkin." He recovered enough to answer.

"I already did, Wyatt. You can Chris have bullied me enough to learn all of these stupid power, no you're trying to tell me, I did it for nothing? And besides, you have no other options anyway, since I blew up the magical demonic teleportation stick."

"Uh, Pey? If I decide to go, then that won't stop me. I can always just zip back to the past five minutes and stop you from zapping it. Don't be so cocky."

"ARGH! You two are SO annoying! I'm going. I'm getting my sister back, without you dying to do it." She turned to Cole. "Tell me how to make that potion."

Cole stared at her for a moment, seeing the 'Charmed' determination shining in her blue eyes. "Okay. Start with the Murdock root."

"No! Peyton, I forbid this! I'm going not you, end of story!" Chris stated, his voice ringing with finality.

Peyton sighed then closed her eyes, determination lined in her face. A blue wavery shield appeared around her. She looked at Chris for a second, and then with a sharp motion of both hands, TK'd her shield away from her. "You can't stop me." She said quietly, moving her shield to encircle both Chris and Wyatt.

Chris chuckled lightly. "Pey…the shield is a great idea, but it's only a protective power, not a defensive one. I can take it down any time I want."

Wyatt wasn't laughing. "You're wrong. It's a recent power boost I got. My shields will protect or capture now. I haven't figured out yet how to remove it." He stared at Peyton. "How'd you know you could do this?"

"I didn't, not really. I just…once I'd been given another choice, I really wanted to do this. I was like once I fully accepted the powers; I automatically knew how to use them all."

"Really? You completely sure about that?" Chris asked suspiciously, motioning at Cole with two fingers.

Cole immediately picked up on the signal, and threw a low voltage energy ball silently at her back. Peyton whirled, hearing it whistle through the air, and blasting it to bits with her left hand as she threw a water ball with the right. As Cole dodged, she instantly sung with her arm, twisting her wrist as Cole went flying through the air. Cole fell to the floor, hands at his throat, choking.

Peyton grinned as she loosened her fist. "So, did I pass, Cole?"

"He is not an adequate test, little girl." A female Pirah demon sneered, as she spit a stream of purple acid at Peyton.

"Whoa!" Peyton yelled, bringing both palms up, Tk'ing the acid back into the demon. Wyatt yelled as three more Pirah demons shimmered in behind Peyton. As she pivoted, she formed a water ball and tossed it with one hand, TK'ing another into the wall. A stream of acid landed just short of her feet, a drop hitting her shin, burning a deep hole into it. Peyton roared angrily and made a pushing motion with both hands, sending the remaining demon hard into a box of weapons, impaling him on a sword.

The demon didn't vanquish immediately. Phyra took a couple of limping steps forward. "Give my regards to Hell, kay?" She gave an impish smile. "Cuz I just pass the test." Peyton flicked her fingers and the demon exploded into thousands of pieces.

Peyton knelt down and tried to heal herself. "Crap! Who make the dumb ass rule that you can't heal yourself, Wy?"

"Apparently, the Elders, hon." Wyatt drawled. "Lower the shield, Pey, we'll heal you."

"No. Not unless you both swear that we use the original plan instead of playing with demons."

Chris sighed heavily. "Okay. We'll try it first. If it doesn't work, or something goes wrong…"

"Something always goes wrong, Chris. How 'bout you just go with this. If one of us dies, then you do your time travel thing then, and use your plan, k?" Peyton offered.

Chris thought for a second. "Okay. Deal."

"Yeah, Pey, me too. Hell, I think you do better with my powers than I do!"

Peyton grinned. "Thanks, Wy!" She concentrated on lowering the shield. It slowly lowered until it was gone. "Now…Heal!" She swung her leg up onto Chris' shoulder, putting it at eye level for healing. "Pretty nasty, huh?"

"Yeah. Those were Pirah demons. The acid can eat a hold right through your body. You were lucky only a drop got on you."

"It wasn't too hard to deflect."

"Don't let that get you overconfident. Acid, energy balls and energy beams are the easiest stuff to react to. You need to be completely on your A game when it comes to fire streams, thorn spitters, demon TK, and especially dark lighter arrows." Wyatt warned. After all these years, he'd dealt with all of those and more. Voluntarily entering the Underworld meant that Peyton would probably run into them too.

"Okay, but I do have the power to deflect all of those, right?"

"Yeah, they just take a lot more concentration and a ton more energy."

"Okay, good as new, kid. We've got to get to work on the potion and the GPS spell." Chris swung her leg off this shoulder, secretly impressed with her gymnast like flexibility. "I'll go round everyone up." He orbed away without another word.

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"Alright… all that's left if the feather. Remember, you've got to focus on Phy, or it won't work."

"Wyatt! Geez, would you stop? You're worse than Aunt Piper!" Peyton complained.

"Hey!" Piper inserted.

"Sorry, Aunt Piper, but really, have you been listening to him?"

"I have, and he sounds far more like Phoebe, not me." Piper teased.

"Okay, Chris, can you bring me the book so I can do the spell before the potion is done?"

Chris carried the Book of Shadows over to Peyton, tilting it so that she could easily read the words.

"Powers of good,

Powers of light.

See us through this eternal night.

Show them now the weary travel,

To start immediately with a magic gavel."

A floating gavel appeared out of thin air, and Peyton grabbed it, banging it against the book with a hard rap. As a large movie-like screen appeared, Peyton took a large steady breath and closed her eyes as she picked up the feather. She blew it out slowly, and dropped the feather into the potion pot.

A small wispy steam of smoke appeared, gathering into a cloud above her head. As it grew larger, Peyton turned to Chris. "If I can't get out, what do I do?"

A huge gust of wind swept through the attic, covering Chris' answer.

"WHAT?" Peyton screamed, seeing the cloud start to descend over her.

Chris yelled an answer, but the wind was too violent, and again she didn't hear as the cloud sent her swirling up and away, out of the attic.


	22. A Higher Power

**A/N: This is it! The final chapter in Not This Time (& Never Again). I will be starting a new story hopefully in the next two weeks. Same characters, but the time frame will jump ahead a little. The story I have planned requires Reilly & Phiona being older, so it'll probably jump about 5 years. The tentative title for the new story is "Face Off". Keep watch for it! **

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Peyton landed hard on a rock slab. "Ow… we've really got to work on the landing for that potion." She stretched a little, working out the soreness. "I thought the potion was supposed to bring me to Phy, not to the Bat Cave. Eww…this is so gross." She kept up the whispered commentary as she started walking. Even though she had no idea where to go logically her gut said to go left, because demons and right just didn't sound normal.

"Soon, sire. The thrice blessed bastard has five more hours until his deadline. He won't miss it. Especially when the fate of his little witchlet lies in the balance." Peyton ducked behind a slab of rock, listening to the male demon from the manor speak.

"It's not soon enough, Dargon! I want Christopher Halliwell's heat! I want to watch his blood drain from his body- drip by drip. And While he's dying, he'll watch the demise of _his_ family. Eye for an eye, family for a family."

"It's not like you to take such an Old Testament view. Are you sure part of your former humanity isn't showing up? This would be such an inopportune time." The female demon from the manor sneered.

The Source stopped, turning slowly to face the female demon. "You tell me." He threw a fire ball, killing her instantly. "My humanity both gained and lost me a daughter, Dargon. This is personal, but it's not human. Instead, I will use all of the combined powers of the Underworld to defeat the Charmed line. Once I have, everyone's problems are solved, and Evil will once again roam free."

"Sire, what about Belthazor? It is a powerful demon who has realigned with the witches."

"Then he dies beside them."

A low moan echoed out of the cavern. Both the Source and Dargon groaned. Peyton grinned widely at both sounds. She knew that moan, and recognized the dismay in the groans. Phyra had obviously been making the demons' lives a living Hell. She made a mental note to buy her sister ice cream when this was over.

"Who hit me? Which one of you two cowards hit me? You'll be so sorry you ever did that when Wyatt and Chris get here. They're _so_ gonna turn you both into puppy chow for this." Phyra's annoyed voice yelled. Beneath the anger, Peyton could hear the fear and tension in her sister's voice.

"SHUT UP!" The Source screamed in frustration. Peyton watched as he stalked over to Phyra and slapped her hard across the face. "Now you know who hit you. And as far as saving you goes, no one will be saving you. I have protected this lair from telepathy, orbing, shimmering, astral projection, invisibility and shape shifting. No one in your family can help you. I have stopped them from dropping in with every way they know how. But _you_ will help _me_. Chris will come, and Chris will die. You are simply the bait in my trap."

"No! You won't get Chris here. I know you won't. Cause he's too smart to fall into your trap. It wouldn't surprise me if he already has another plan in the works."

"Nevertheless, he will soon realize that it is his only option." The Source turned to Dargon. "Go and prepare a torture chamber. I want to interruptions when Christopher gets here."

"Yes, Sire." Dargon shimmered away.

"Why do you blame Chris for this anyway? He didn't kill Maya. Reilly did, you big doofus." Phyra shot snottily.

"Impossible! There is no Reilly in the Halliwell's lives. I know. I've done extensive research, and know all of it You're trying to save your pathetic cousin from my wrath. Well, I'm warning you know, shut up, witch, or I might just kill you now, and not wait for your cousin to come rescue you."

"Oh, yeah, great plan." she quipped sarcastically. "Cuz Chris wouldn't know I was dead or anything. It's not like we have any type of psychic connection. God, who knew a Source could be so dumb." The last was whispered under her breath."

"I warned you. Enjoy the right to speak. I'll be back, and when I am, I'll have a power sucking demon with me. First, he'll take your magical powers, then your ability to speak." With a loud cackle, he laughed and flamed out.

"God, Chris, Wy…where _are_ you?" Phyra sat down hard, trying desperately not to cry.

"They're at the Manor. C'mon, I'm getting us out of here." Peyton ran up to Phyra only to be thrown back by a force field.

"Pey, you can't do this. I…the shield is made by the Source. Your power isn't strong enough to break it."

"I know, but Wyatt's should be." Peyton drew in a deep breath, then flicked her hands at the shield, trying to blow it up. It shook, but held firmly. She tried again, only to get the same result. "Damn it!" Her temper slipped and she tried to TK a boulder to break the shield.

Phyra glanced around nervously. "Pey, you've to go hurry. He'll be back any second."

"I know, Phy. Don't worry, I won't leave you. How 'bout a spell? Ummm…'Evil cage, evil latch, let good find an escape hatch.' " Both girls waited expectantly. Nothing happened.

"It's not going to work, Pey. You've got to go, hurry. Just get Chris and the Power of Three. Hopefully, it'll be enough."

"It won't, I can assure you." The Source spoke calmly.

Peyton immediately drew up a shield around herself, and Phyra's cage.

The Source laughed. "Do you really think a pathetic safety shield will help you?" Again he laughed, this time bringing up both hands flat in front of him. "I really had hope for a larger challenge."

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"What is she doing? Is she trying to get both of them killed?" Wyatt burst out, watching the events unfold on the magical movie screen.

"Which one? Phyra taunts the Source, and Peyton just faces him down head to head. If I ever get them back, I swear, they are grounded until the day they die." Paige burst out.

"Yeah, and I'll bind their powers." Jax added, with a ton of sarcasm.

"We need to get down there. We have to help her!" Phoebe was pacing.

"How Phoebe? You heard him. We can't orb, can't shimmer, can't astral project….how do we get there? We can't exactly charter a jet there, and he blocked every magical route we can use." Piper argued tiredly.

"Not all of them." Chris stood quickly and ran to the potion closet. Inside was a small black book with a lock. Chris took a key out of his wallet, fitting it inside the lock. He flipped over a few pages, then ran full speed to Wyatt. "We need to black orb, Wy."

Wyatt started to smile, then lost the grin as quickly as it appeared. "That spell takes two white lighters to say. Both get black orbs. Chris, it's not smart for you to go down there. He'll be aiming for you."

"Yeah, I know. But as soon as we get there, I can reflect a shield from Pey, and that will turn all his attention on me. He'll be so focused on breaking it down, that you'll be able to help Pey get Phy out. Then, all of us can black orb out together."

"But…"

Paige's scream of denial broke him off. Both Wyatt and Chris snapped to the screen in time to see a large hole appear in the shield. Wyatt turned to Chris with a nod. Chris stood next to Wyatt and they began speaking.

"_Black as night_

_Black is right._

_Change our orbs_

_To Evil's type._

_Keep them dark,_

_Show only an evil mark."_

Instantly, both Wyatt and Chris' appearances changed. Wyatt's blond hair turned dark brown, as Chris' shaggy cut grew past his shoulders. Both were dressed head to toe in black, looking like the bad ass dark lighters they were pretending to be. Chris grabbed a few potion bottles from the supply cabinet and handed them to Wyatt. "These will give you a little extra fire power." He looked at his parents. "Keep watching. Dad, you and Aunt Paige say the spell if necessary. Go get Pey and Phy." The room filled with dark black orbs as Chris and Wyatt disappeared.

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Peyton's shield was gone. The Source laughed as he called up a fire ball. Peyton ducked and it hit the cage, weakening the cage around Phyra.

"Phy! Use your power! Get the fireball to surround the cage. It weakens it!" Peyton yelled as she called up another shield. This time she TK'd it over the Source as quickly as she could.

"Stupid child. This won't hold me for long."

"It doesn't have to… just long enough for us blow this joint!" Peyton yelled at him,

"Pey! Look, it's working!" Phyra yelled excitedly.

"For now, but the shield protects you. Once its gone, you will be killed as well."

Phyra screamed in pain, as the fire began to break through the shield, burning her.

"No!" Peyton lobbed a water ball at the fire, extinguishing it. "Quick, Phy, get out of there!"

Phyra dove for the hole in the cage. She shimmied out on her stomach, hitting the floor just as the hold closed shut.

"That did you no good!" The Source bellowed, as his powers finally released him from the shield, throwing a fire ball at them.

"Wanna bet?" Phyra asked cockily. She threw both hands out, and sent his fire ball back at him. Peyton joined in, cheerfully tossing water balls at him.

He roared in anger, and with a swift motion of his arm, threw both girls to the floor. "That will be the last thing you ever…AAGH!"

"Hello again. Fancy meeting you here, huh?" Chris drawled lazily. He had another fire ball and an energy ball both ready to throw.

Wyatt ran to Peyton and Phyra. "You guys, okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Peyton winced as the Source bellowed for his guards. Instantly, the room was crawling with demons.

"Shit! This sucks!" Phyra swore, using the demon's fire balls to vanquish them. Wyatt used his water control to freeze demons in ice, then called on his martial arts training that his parents had insisted on, and kicked the frozen statues, shattering them. Peyton alternated between blowing up demons with her left hand and tossing water balls with her right. Chris threw another huge energy ball at the Source. "You wrong, you know. I love Maya, even now. Even though she's gone. I would never have killed her." He knew the words would force the Source to rage. As the powers inside the Source grew out of control, he would self-destruct, just as Phoebe's baby Source had inside the Seer. Sparks began to shoot from the Source's eyes, mouth and nose.

Chris sent Wyatt a look. With a nod, Wyatt understood immediately. He grabbed both Peyton and Phyra's arms, and the four black orbed out just as a huge explosion erupted from the Source's body, wiping out all of the remaining demons in the cavern with bright white beams of light.

Wyatt, Chris, Peyton and Phyra landed in the attic. Peyton exploded Leo with a flick of her fingers accidentally, not realizing where they were. His orbs reformed with a resigned look on his face.

Peyton gasped. "Oopsie…Sorry, Uncle Leo. It was a mistake, honest!"

Leo's face broke out in a relieved grin. "No problem." He stumbled a little as Paige and Jax pushed by him to get to the girls. Paige alternately kissed, hugged and checked them for injuries as Jax gathered all three in a big hug, whispering, " my girls…my sweet baby girls."

"Mom, Dad. Stop, we're okay." Peyton gasped.

"Yeah, you guys should have seen it. Pey came in like Rambo. By the way, how'd you get Wy's powers?" Phyra asked, suddenly confused.

"Me and Wy swapped powers." Peyton looked at Wyatt. Suspiciously. "Which reminds me…how'd you make my orbs black?"

"They're _my_ orbs right now, kid. And, I'm not telling. See I know two little witch lighters that would use the spell to do this all the time." Wyatt pulled her into a relaxed hug with a grin.

"So, you ready to switch back? I gotta admit, I'm looking forward to not being Twice-Blessed again."

Wyatt laughed. "Yeah, well, I guess I'd forgotten what it's like to not be the most powerful. It was a good thing to remember."

"Yeah, well, before you guys do that, can we go to Yummies? I'm _starved_. Demon gruel is really nasty." Phyra broke in.

Chris laughed, rubbing his hand over her silky hair. "As soon as we swap everything back, we'll orb over there for dinner, okay?"

"All right, but hurry. Seriously- I'm going to eat that restaurant right out of food tonight. Starting with Mozzarella sticks and loaded potato skins, then chicken broccoli alfredo and a broiled lobster, then…"

The family's laughter cut her off. This feeling of lightness that surrounded them was one that only occurred when the biggest Source of evil had been defeated, and good had a good lead in the fight- even if it was only temporary.

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Dargon paced the Source's now empty lair. "I will avenge this. I will avenge you…father." His eyes flashed, as fire rose up in them and then they went completely black.


End file.
